(NewsNation) — There’s a spike in new political engagement among conservative women, where moms are united in family values and a common mission, especially when it comes to education.
It’s been 13 years since Sarah Palin used the term “mama grizzly” while campaigning for vice president. However, that phrase triggered what’s now become the Mama Bear Movement.
“We’re going to take the reins back and dictate the type of nation that we want to leave our children in the future, and I really think we’re at a crossroads of what is their future going to look like,” Ashley McCurry said.
Christy Stacy, Kenya Alu and McCurry believe they are among an underestimated number of conservative women who are “mama bears.”
“We have to go back to reading, writing and arithmetic. We don’t need porn in schools, we don’t need CRT in schools, we just need our kids to be educated,” Alu said.
And they were really riled by the educational upheaval during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“We’re going to keep waking up,” Alu said. “I think school boards are going to continue to flip all over the country.”
These Dallas-area women are not members of any organized groups, but many other conservative women are.
“Moms for Liberty” boasts more than 120,000 members nationwide, and there are other like-minded groups following in their footsteps. But it’s suspected many more mama bears are out there, sticking to their own dens.
Collectively, they wield a lot of power and sway.
“I think this particular group, the mama bears, are going to be key in winning the primaries,” Jeffrey Brauer, a professor of social sciences at Keystone College, said.
Political observers predict mama bears could be the deciding votes in all kinds of races, from local school boards up to the White House.
“These women are going to be key because a lot of these races are going to come down to very tight races and even small groups, like Moms for Liberty and other conservative women groups, will make the difference,” Brauer said.
Former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron Desantis and all other Republican presidential candidates are well aware of the power moms wield.
But also teeing up is a mama bear clawback from the left.
A counter group called “Moms Rising” claims it’s their side that has the mommy majority.
“Moms Rising has over a million members and we know we are backed by the majority of moms and people who have children in America,” Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, the executive director of Moms Rising, said.
“What you’re hearing moms want is not what moms actually want,” Rowe-Finkbeiner said. “Most of us are actually upset by the book bans, the censorship, the hate and the division.”
But mama bear Christy Stacy said she is going to fight tooth and nail for parents to get to keep their role as parents and schools to keep their role as educating on the basics.
“Now, which group of women are going to be the key? That’s still kind of out there to be determined,” Brauer said.
Moms for Liberty has indicated that they will not be making endorsements in legislative races or the presidential election. However, the movement to get far more conservative women to the polls overall is obviously going to impact races at all levels.