Siena poll: Andrew Cuomo, Zephyr Teachout, and Common Core.

If Common Core Can’t Make It in New York, Can It Make It Anywhere?

If Common Core Can’t Make It in New York, Can It Make It Anywhere?

Weigel
Reporting on Politics and Policy.
July 21 2014 3:56 PM

If Common Core Can’t Make It in New York, Can It Make It Anywhere?

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He's ahead, but Common Core isn't

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

The new Siena poll doesn't contain many surprises—Andrew Cuomo easily leads his re-election race, challenger Zephyr Teachout has yet to register, etc. It's really just the question, and answers, about the Common Core education curriculum that surprised me.

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In a very short time, opposition to Common Core has evolved from a fringe Republican position that blue-staters laugh at to a position that clearly wins out in blue New York. When independents break against something by a 14-point margin, politicians generally look awkwardly for the escape hatches.

David Weigel is a reporter for the Washington Post.