Rob Astorino, the Republican New York gubernatorial candidate, announced on Tuesday that he will also appear on the “Stop Common Core” ballot line.
Astorino is already running on the Republican and Conservative party ballot line, and says he has enough signatures to get the new third party on the ballot, according to an article published Tuesday by Journal News.
There has been a strong movement in New York against Common Core, with a poll done by WNYT from Albany reporting that 82 percent of New Yorkers oppose Common Core. (RELATED: Over 80 PERCENT Of New York Residents Say Common Core Is A Disastrous Failure)
Astorino has been adamantly against the Common Core education standards throughout his campaign, even deciding to opt his kids out of Common Core testing. He said in a March 31 video,”As parents, we think it’s important to take a stand. Our children aren’t guinea pigs, Governor Cuomo, and we want them educated by teachers – not faceless bureaucrats in Washington.”
The outrage against Common Core stretches against party lines, Democratic governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters on February 20, “I think the way they have implemented Common Core as failed utterly. There is massive confusion, massive anxiety and massive chaos all through.”
Astorino throughout his campaign has linked Cuomo to Common Core, but Cuomo defended himself saying,”People think the governor is in charge of the state Education Department. Actually, I have nothing to do with it.”
Michael Brickman, national policy director of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, told The Daily Caller Thursday that the new party, “would allow him to attempt to reach out to liberal voters who wouldn’t want to pull the lever for a Republican candidate.”
Regarding Astorino’s decision to opt his kids out of Common Core testing, he told TheDC,”The more parents that do that, the tougher it is for parents or taxpayers to know how students are actually doing.”