Teachers Union Spent $7.8 Million on 2026 Ballot Fights, Watchdog Finds

The National Education Association, the largest teachers union in the United States, spent nearly $7.8 million in 2026 trying to defeat ballot measures in three states, according to a new report from the education watchdog Defending Education. The report, published on November 12 and built from internal union documents and campaign finance records, puts the total at $7,791,929.95, with most of the money aimed at a school-choice fight in Arizona. The findings come days after the November 3 midterm elections, when several of the measures the union opposed were approved anyway.

Key Points

• The National Education Association and its affiliates spent $7,791,929.95 on 2026 ballot fights in Alaska, Arizona and Washington.
• More than 90 percent of the total, $7,075,438.33, went to a single Arizona committee fighting school choice.
• The union spent $75,000 opposing Arizona Proposition 318, which voters approved despite the campaign against it.
• In Washington the union gave more than $391,000 to one campaign, and in Alaska it gave $250,000 to oppose a ranked-choice voting repeal.
• Internal union guidance cited in the report says affiliates may spend unlimited amounts from their general treasuries on ballot measures.

What Happened

Defending Education published its report on November 12, 2026, after reviewing internal National Education Association documents and campaign finance filings. The report traces how the union, known as the NEA, and its state affiliates moved money into ballot-measure campaigns in Alaska, Arizona and Washington during 2026, a midterm year in which voters in many states decided questions on schools, sports and elections themselves.

The headline figure is $7,791,929.95. The report says the spending was aimed at defeating measures the union opposed, including a school-choice expansion in Arizona, a ban on transgender athletes in school sports, and an effort to repeal ranked-choice voting in Alaska. It also examines the union's efforts to protect dues revenue as states move to restrict payroll deductions, the automatic withholding of union dues from teachers' pay.

Background: The NEA and Ballot-Measure Spending

The NEA is the country's largest teachers union, representing public school educators across the United States, and it has long been one of the biggest spenders in American education politics. Unions generally face limits on how much they can give directly to candidates, but ballot measures are treated differently under campaign finance law in most states.

According to internal NEA guidance quoted in the report, unions may spend unlimited amounts from their general treasuries on ballot measures in any state. The guidance also calls for affiliates to provide what it describes as "strategic and financial assistance" to defeat measures the union considers unfriendly. The largest sums moved in the first half of 2026, well before most voters were paying attention to the measures themselves.

Teachers Union Spending: Where the $7.8 Million Went

Arizona absorbed the overwhelming share. The report says $7,075,438.33 in the first two quarters of 2026 came from the Arizona Education Association and the NEA and went to the Protect Education, Accountability Now PAC, a committee campaigning against school choice. The report says the PAC appears to be run by the president of an NEA local affiliate, the Kyrene Education Association.

A separate Arizona payment went to the fight over Proposition 318. The Arizona Education Association sent $75,000 on September 30, 2026, to the Will of The People PAC, which opposed the proposition. Proposition 318, which voters approved, will require schools and athletic associations to restrict private spaces and sports participation based on biological sex. Voters in four states backed similar transgender athlete bans in the midterms, as US News Pulse reported, and the NEA's spending did not stop the measure in Arizona.

In Washington, the Washington Education Association gave more than $391,000 to No Hate in WA State, a campaign group active in the state's ballot fights. In Alaska, the NEA Advocacy Fund gave $250,000 on September 22, 2026, to "No on 2", the campaign opposing Ballot Measure 2, which would repeal the state's top-four ranked-choice voting system. Together the two states account for roughly $641,000, a small share beside the Arizona total but still substantial for state ballot campaigns.

Reactions and Quotes

The NEA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on the report. The union has not publicly disputed the figures, and no statement from the NEA had been issued at the time the report was published.

Defending Education presents the report as a window into how the country's largest teachers union uses its treasury in state politics. The group says its findings are drawn from the union's own internal documents and from public campaign finance records. The report does not quote union leaders defending the spending, and it does not include a response from the campaigns that received the money.

Why It Matters

The report matters because it shows how much organised money can sit behind a ballot question that voters may see only as a short paragraph on their ballot. In Arizona, more than $7 million went into a single school-choice fight, yet voters still approved Proposition 318. That raises a question the report leaves open: whether large union spending can still move voters on education issues, or whether voters have made up their minds regardless of the money.

It also matters because ballot measures are becoming a central battleground in American education politics. With Congress divided and state legislatures split, both sides increasingly take their fights directly to voters. The findings also feed into the wider debate about money in the 2026 midterms, a cycle in which outside spending reached record levels, including more than $1.47 billion in dark money, as US News Pulse reported.

What Happens Next

The NEA may yet respond to the report, and its state affiliates may face questions about the spending as legislatures return in 2027. In Arizona, the school-choice debate will continue as the measures the union opposed take effect, including Proposition 318's new rules for schools and athletic associations. In Alaska, the ranked-choice voting system remains in place unless Ballot Measure 2 succeeds. Defending Education says it will keep tracking union spending on ballot measures, and the payroll-deduction fight the report describes is also unresolved, with more states considering limits on automatic dues collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much did the teachers union spend on 2026 ballot measures?
The National Education Association and its affiliates spent $7,791,929.95 on 2026 ballot fights in Alaska, Arizona and Washington, according to the Defending Education report.

Which state received the most union money?
Arizona received the overwhelming share: $7,075,438.33 went to the Protect Education, Accountability Now PAC, plus $75,000 to oppose Proposition 318.

What is Defending Education?
Defending Education is an education watchdog group. Its November 12, 2026 report is based on internal NEA documents and campaign finance records.

Did the union's spending stop the measures it opposed?
No, not in Arizona: voters approved Proposition 318 despite the $75,000 spent against it, and voters in four states backed transgender athlete bans.

Can unions spend unlimited money on ballot measures?
According to internal NEA guidance cited in the report, unions may spend unlimited amounts from their general treasuries on ballot measures in any state.