While it’s nice to be liked as a politician, it’s better to be elected. And the results of this week’s balloting in Arizona challenge conventional wisdom and recent studies that suggest candidates with a more engaging social media presence are more likely to win elections.

The people who Diane Douglas said are from the “ivory towers” are eager to meet with her and find out the rest of her ideas besides repealing Common Core.

Former suburban school board member Diane Douglas narrowly won the race to become Arizona's top education official after running a one-issue campaign to repeal the Common Core education standards.

Outnumbered and out-financed in the land of Barry Goldwater, Democrats often trade with the currency of hope. But even hope quickly collapsed under the weight of mathematical reality on Nov. 4, when Republicans swept statewide races in victory after victory. The success mirrored the party’s triumph at the national level, where the GOP expanded its dominance in the U.S. House and seized control of the U.S. Senate.

Former suburban school board member Diane Douglas narrowly won the race to become Arizona's top education official after running a one-issue campaign to repeal the Common Core education standards.

Election workers across Arizona are still tallying ballots as three major races remain unsettled. The races for the 2nd Congressional District, superintendent of public instruction and a statewide ballot measure about federal government overreach remain too close to call.

It is a race that has been seemingly flipped on its head: Traditional Republican groups are supporting the Democrat in the campaign for Arizona's top education official.

Democrat David Garcia has received nearly $500,000 from third-party supporters since Oct. 10, an unusually high figure for the down-ballot, superintendent of public instruction race.

David Garcia worked for a year at the Arizona Capitol last decade, but that didn’t motivate him to dive much deeper into politics, beyond voting.

Diane Douglas had always been heavily involved in her only child’s education, grilling teachers and administrators about what and how they were doing things and about her daughter’s progress, whether it was good or bad.