By SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. (AP) â Jill Underly rode support from the state teachersâ union and an overwhelming financial advantage, fueled by the Democratic Party, to win election Tuesday as Wisconsin superintendent of schools, defeating Republican-backed Deb Kerr.
Underly cruised to a double-digit win, based on unofficial results.
Underly, 43, is superintendent of the rural Pecatonica school district and formerly worked for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, which she will now lead. Kerr, 63, is the former superintendent of the Brown Deer school district in suburban Milwaukee.
The race was officially nonpartisan, but Democrats and their money lined up solidly behind Underly while Kerr found support from Republicans. Kerr ran as a strong supporter of the private school voucher program, a favorite of conservatives, while Underly is an opponent.