Teacher's union fails spelling test on campaign mailing

Posted at 3:00 PM on October 5, 2012 by Tom Scheck (6 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2012, Campaign 2012: Minn. House Races

Education Minnesota, the state's teacher's union, is always active during election season. The group runs TV ads calling for quality education, endorses candidates and sends out campaign mailings. The union's influence is broad and can sometimes tip close races.

This week, the union sent out a campaign mailing backing Democrat Laurie Halverson in House District 51B. Halverson is running against GOP Rep. Doug Wardlow in the Eagan District. Campaign mailings are common this time of year but this one stands out.

The reason?

The union that represents the state's 70,000 teachers and wants to ensure that "students receive the education and skills they need to compete in the 21st Century" misspelled Halverson's name.

Republicans were quick to pounce on the mailing.

"Oh the irony, Education Minnesota sends out a mailer for a DFL Candidate and spells her name wrong," Tom Freeman wrote on Twitter. Freeman is working to elect Republicans to the Minnesota House.

Chris Williams, spokesman for Education Minnesota, acknowledged the mistake.

"We've apologized to Ms. Halverson for the typo on the mailing, but we stand by the overall message," said Williams in a written statement. "While Halverson supports increasing the state's investment in public education, her opponent has a track record of voting against the best interests of our students."

Comments (6)

This is news? It seems more like capitalizing on a chance to write a snarky headline than telling us something substantial about the race.

Posted by Reg | October 5, 2012 3:32 PM

I agree with Reg. What a waste of space and bandwidth. You're just assisting the LyingBullies in their meanness-&-smear-tactics campaign style. And it's not even the kind of spelling error that is pertinent to teaching. It's more of a proofreading error. MPR as usual aids the Republican marketing machine.

Posted by Jamie | October 5, 2012 6:42 PM

"MPR as usual aids the Republican marketing machine."

This made me laugh. Ha ha, right...

Posted by Jim | October 5, 2012 8:16 PM

Laurie Halverson's campaign just got free media, with her name put out there front and center. Halverson or Halvorson, some voters who were not aware of her before, now have heard about her, thanks to local Republicans.

Posted by Susan | October 6, 2012 5:53 PM

"MPR as usual aids the Republican marketing machine."
"...This made me laugh. Ha ha, right..."

There's nothing funny about it. And if you're laughing because you think it isn't true, then you're not paying attention.

Posted by Jamie | October 6, 2012 9:02 PM

Love those trying to point to the Repubs over this one. Basic report writing tells you to verify your facts before reporting. Typo or not, it's still a bad gaffe. Being that it's from those who 'promote' the education of our kids because 'they know best' is telling. Glad to hear that they always want more money.

Posted by Bob | October 8, 2012 8:08 AM

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