Why Trump, DeSantis, and GOP rivals are flocking to the Moms for Liberty convention in Philadelphia

The biggest presidential primary event this week isn’t in New Hampshire or Iowa. It’s in the Grand Ballroom at the Philadelphia Marriott before hundreds of moms.

Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will speak at the Moms for Liberty “Joyful Warriors” convention Friday. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are also on the speaker schedule.

The outpouring of GOP presidential hopeful interest shows the impact of the self-described “parental rights” group — and the culture war issues that have become its focus — on the Republican Party.

“These Republican candidates recognize that’s an organization that’s got a lot of chapters around the country,” said Montgomery County GOP chairman Christian Nascimento. “And a lot of people, particularly moms, that are active and motivated.”

After Florida, Pennsylvania has the most local Moms for Liberty chapters, with several in the Philadelphia suburbs.

The Florida-based political group, which grew out of opposition to COVID-19 restrictions and school mask and vaccine mandates, opposes teachings about race, gender, and sexual orientation. It has pushed to ban books it deems pornographic from school libraries and accused teachers of seeking to indoctrinate students.

The Southern Poverty Law Center earlier this month named Moms for Liberty an anti-governmental extremist group. Several LGBTQ advocacy groups have condemned Moms for Liberty as an organization that spreads misinformation about LGBTQ people.

Several protests and a “banned book giveaway” are planned.

Svante Myrick, president of People For, a progressive civil rights organization, will be co-leading a protest outside the Marriott on Friday. He said he and other groups are descending on Philadelphia to make clear that Moms for Liberty espouses fringe ideas.

“What the Republican candidates are hoping is that they can go to this convention, woo these voters, and the rest of the country won’t notice because it’s called ‘Moms for Liberty,’” Myrick said.

“Who doesn’t like moms or liberty? But in truth, if America knows what this organization stands for — there will be a political price to pay for appearing and speaking at this convention.”

Moms for Liberty has gotten involved in school board races around the country and helped make “parental rights” a rallying call in 2021. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin campaigned on the issue, and even some Democrats have given a nod to the general concept of parental involvement in education. During his run for governor, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro promised to appoint two parents to the state Board of Education.

Moms for Liberty has long been closely intertwined with the Republican Party and major conservative groups. One founder, Bridget Ziegler, who has since stepped down, is married to the chairman of the Florida Republican Party. Marie Rogerson, who replaced Ziegler, is an experienced GOP political strategist.

DeSantis is a friend of the group, which advocated for the 2021 “Parents Bill of Rights” and a law barring instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity commonly known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

For Republicans, the convention is a key place to make inroads, particularly with suburban female voters who have voted against Republican candidates in increasing numbers.

“They’re coming for the same reason [President Joe] Biden went to a union convention,” GOP consultant Chris Nicholas said. “Campaigns always like to go to places where someone else has spent the time and money to organize and they can show up and take advantage of that.”

In addition to the GOP speakers, the conference has three days of panel discussions on subjects such as how to organize school board races and anti-LGBTQ topics such as “Protecting Kids from Gender Ideology,” the description for which begins, “There is no such thing as a transgender child. They are called girls and boys.”

Myrick, who is also the former mayor of Ithaca, N.Y., said the attendance by the leading GOP candidates “should raise red flags.”

“There’s always been a fringe element of our society that wants to ban books, wants to demonize public school teachers, and wants to really eradicate public education. But that that fringe now has the attention of these major presidential candidates should really put the rest of America on high alert.”

While national Republicans have been eager to attach themselves to Moms for Liberty, it’s unclear what kind of impact the organization will have on local school board races this fall, particularly in swing suburban districts where Democrats have labeled the group and candidates associated with it as extremists.

Moms for Liberty has not posted any endorsements on its website for Pennsylvania, where school board elections will be held in November. The group, which endorsed 500 candidates nationally in 2022, says local chapters decide endorsements.

Nicholas said the Democratic opposition shows that the group has some political clout.

“They had an outsized impact in 2021 and now the education establishment has made it clear they’re not gonna be snuck up on again,” he said.

Staff writer Maddie Hanna contributed to this article.