Did education help power the blue wave? Here’s what the polls say

The recent Democratic victories have sparked debates about whether education issues played a role in the results. While education was not a top issue for most voters, it provided a tailwind for Democrats in some state races. According to polls, only a small percentage of voters considered education the most important issue, but 62% of voters still viewed it as "very important" to their vote.

Private school choice was a significant topic in several state races, with Democratic candidates criticizing subsidies for private schools and winning in places like Arizona, Iowa, Tennessee, and Texas. However, it's difficult to determine if education was decisive in any particular race, as Democrats also had similar messaging on the issue before and were less successful.

In general, voters prefer Democrats on education, with one ABC poll finding that Americans were 14 percentage points more likely to trust Democrats on education compared to Republicans. Trump's education approval ratings have been consistently low, with 57% of voters judging his approach as "terrible" and 25% saying it was "excellent." These numbers have remained consistent throughout Trump's second term.

Despite Trump's low education approval, his federal school choice tax credit may be popular once operational, as most Americans appear to support the measure. However, LGBT-related policies were not a key issue in the broader election, with fewer than one in four people rating them as "very important" to their vote.