Rep. Jaime Churches, the Democratic incumbent in House District 27, says that she will prioritize funding for public education. Rep. Churches is a public school teacher who says that “our students, educators, and schools are worth investing in.” Churches says that “as a public school teacher, I know how the underfunding of public education has made me feel devalued as an educator. When budgets are tight, public schools are often not prioritized.”

Churches says she supports exploring the option of universal pre-K as a way to increase literacy rates, which, according to Churches, “would make learning to read more equitable for all families and increase literacy exposure and development for all Michiganders.” Concerned about teachers leaving the profession, Rep. Churches said lawmakers need to adopt a new culture that “respects educators as professionals and works to compensate us fairly.” Churches also voted for SB 173, which funded free school lunches for all Michigan K-12 students, expanded eligibility for Michigan’s pre-K program, and increased per-pupil funding by $458. 

Churches is running against Republican nominee Rylee Linting, the Youth Vice Chair for the Michigan Republican party. 

Linting says she joined politics to fight “woke student culture.” According to her campaign website, “after graduating from Grosse Ile High School, Rylee took her studies to Grand Valley State University where she faced indoctrination, vaccination mandates, and woke student culture. This experience led Rylee to get involved politically and fight for freedom and family values.”

The Great Lakes Education Project has endorsed Rylee Linting in the race for the 27th District. The Great Lakes Education Project is an organization funded by Betsy Devos that supports school vouchers, which take away funding from traditional public schools and direct funds toward charter and private schools. The group says it supports candidates that “prioritize literacy and other efforts needed to help kids catch up after years of disastrous anti-science pandemic-era school lockouts.” It also describes itself as an organization that empowers “parental choice.”