2 Peoria school board candidates attend JD Vance rally

As JD Vance spread misinformation about the education system in Arizona, two notable guests were there to support him: Janelle Bowles and Jeff Tobey, both candidates running for Peoria school board.

Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance visited Peoria during a campaign stop on Tuesday.

During the rally, he delivered the nativist and anti-immigrant remarks he’s known for, including implying that students who don’t speak English as a first language make education worse because it distracts teachers from “American children.”

“In Arizona schools right now, we have got thousands upon thousands of children who can’t even speak the native, the local language in Arizona,” Vance said. “What does that do to the education of American children when their teachers aren’t teaching them, but they’re focused on kids who don’t have the legal right to be here?”

It’s worth noting that the United States does not have an official language, and evidence suggests that having more immigrants as classmates increases US-born students’ chances of completing high school.

As Vance spread misinformation about the education system in Arizona, two notable guests were there to support him: Janelle Bowles and Jeff Tobey, both candidates running for Peoria school board.

Bowles is the sister of Arizona Sen. Anthony Kern, a Republican who was at the US Capitol on Jan. 6. While Bowles is not responsible for the choices of her brother, a quick look at what appears to be her personal Instagram account shows that she is at least sympathetic to election denialism.

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Other posts on the account include transphobic attacks against her opponents in the race for Peoria Unified School District Governing Board, and an image of the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, which has been co-opted by White Nationalists as a symbol of their movement, and is associated with the 2020 “Stop the Steal” movement.

Tobey has touted endorsements from Republican Abe Hamadeh, who lost his race for Arizona Attorney General in 2022 and will likely represent Arizona’s 8th Congressional District after the Nov. 5 election, and Republican Arizona Sen. Shawnna Bolick.

“Huge thanks to Sen. JD Vance and all the incredible speakers for standing strong and fighting for the soul of the country,” Tobey said on Twitter.

“Thank you JD Vance!” Bowles said on Twitter.

School board races in Arizona are nonpartisan.