Moms for Liberty, the notorious conservative group formed to fight COVID-19 mask mandates and then “pornographic” books and other culture-war topics, looks to be losing influence in Florida, the birthplace of the parents-rights organization.

Across Florida, many candidates who shared the group’s views lost their elections on Tuesday. Some observers said the results indicate that Moms for Liberty now looks “toxic” to many voters. The group had become known for its members’ angry denunciations at board meetings, and its “We do not co-parent with the government” T-shirts.

Moms for Liberty, once dedicated to electing like-minded school board members statewide, also spent the least amount of money and endorsed the fewest school board candidates this year since its formation in 2021. And some candidates it did endorse chose not to proclaim that Moms for Liberty supported them.

Locally, the most notable defeat was that of Alicia Farrant in Orange County, a Moms for Liberty member who won a seat on the school board four years ago but lost a bid Tuesday to become its countywide chair and will soon be out of office.

Two other conservative candidates aligned with Farrant also lost their bids for seats on Orange’s school board.

In Flagler County, two candidates aligned with Moms for Liberty lost elections, including one who was previously endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The DeSantis administration embraced Moms for Liberty members, including Farrant, several years ago as it heightened scrutiny of school books, limited lessons on racism and passed a law banning instruction on sexual orientation that critics dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.”

The most telling defeats for the group came in Sarasota County, home to Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, who is the chair of that county’s school board. Ziegler is not running for reelection, and three school board candidates aligned with Moms for Liberty lost.

The losses in Orange are “a reflection that we are not interested in banning books and trying to single out marginalized communities — that really we just want a strong public education for all of our students, and I think our community really has always supported that,” said Orange County School Board member Stephanie Vanos.

Vanos was elected two years ago, defeating a more conservative candidate who critics said was tied to Moms for Liberty despite her denials.

It isn’t surprising to see Moms for Liberty’s impact fall off in recent years, Vanos added.

“Moms for Liberty is toxic. It’s a toxic label, and I think they know it,” she said

But in a statement, Moms for Liberty pushed back against the notion that the organization has lost a step.

Moms for Liberty CEO and Co-Founder Tina Descovich declared victory after last week’s election, calling it a “sweep” for the group’s 15 endorsed candidates in Florida — 11 of whom won or advanced to runoffs in November.

“Every couple of years someone in the media writes our obituary, and every couple of years parents show up and prove them wrong,” she said in a statement.

Descovich declined an interview, referring to the group’s emailed statement.

The group’s list of 15 endorsed candidates was its smallest ever, and those candidates’ names are not on the Moms for Liberty website.

The group backed “over 500” candidates in 2022, 202 candidates in 2023, “over 100” in 2024 and 57 in 2025. This year, Moms for Liberty spent about $2,000 from its political action committee on local elections, compared to well over $20,000 in 2022.

This year’s endorsements were in six conservative counties, including Brevard County. The group did not endorse Farrant or the other conservative candidates in Orange, and Farrant’s campaign materials did not mention her ties to the group, suggesting an awareness that Moms for Liberty’s messages might not play well in a blue county.

Megan Wright, who won reelection to her seat on the Brevard County School Board, earned a Moms for Liberty endorsement but never posted it to her campaign social media or website.

Gene Trent, another Brevard school board candidate endorsed by Moms for Liberty, advanced to a runoff election last week. His campaign website also makes no mention of the endorsement.

Wright and Trent did not respond to a request for comment about the affiliation.

Tom Edwards, a Sarasota County School Board member since 2020, has been the subject of attacks from the local Moms for Liberty chapter throughout his tenure on the board. Group members would claim Edwards, who is gay, was a “danger” to schoolchildren.

Sarasota is a conservative county, with Republicans outnumbering Democrats two to one. The county’s voters elected a wave of Moms for Liberty candidates in 2022 on the back of endorsements from DeSantis.

But since then, voters have reduced the group’s influence. Two years ago, Edwards survived a challenge from a candidate aligned with the group.

This year’s election and Ziegler’s departure marks the “death for Moms for Liberty,” he said.

“We’re the bellwether for the whole country. Craziness, extremism started here, and we closed it here,” he said.

Angie Gallo, the Orange school board member who defeated Farrant in the race for board chair, said most voters want school board members focused on public education, not extreme political positions, so it’s not surprising Moms for Liberty’s influence is fading.

“It’s a rejection of the culture wars,” Gallo said. “The county made it very clear when they went to the ballot box over the last few weeks that they wanted pro-public school advocates sitting on our board.”

Joe Saunders, the executive director of the Equality Florida Action PAC, agreed. Equality Florida, a statewide LGBTQ civil rights group, spent $250,000 statewide to send mailers to on behalf of school board candidates facing Moms for Liberty challengers, including the winning slate in Orange and Sarasota counties.

“Voters are sick of the extremism of Moms for Liberty — the shrill voices of people who don’t even have kids in public schools most of the time coming to scream at school board members, attacking teachers, attacking the programs themselves, attacking libraries. They want the focus to be back on the things that matter the most,” Saunders said.

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