When confronted by a culture war or loaded ideological topic, Democrats often want to “win” the debate.

We live in a loud media climate. Oftentimes, candidates and politicians feel they need to politicize or turn an issue into a headline. Republicans and Democrats alike are seen by many as pushing an agenda.

But in my years of research and of training Democratic candidates for school boards and local offices across the Midwest’s battleground states, I found a different strategy was more effective in winning hearts, minds and seats.

Politicians spend so much time debating and grandstanding that they forget what people really care about — fighting for a better future for our kids. A survey conducted in late 2022 by Hart Research, a public opinion research firm, found that when given a range of options, what was most important to parents was that students have strong fundamental skills in reading, math and science. Most parents, regardless of political affiliation, would tend to agree.

According to the survey, parents were less concerned with political debates on “critical race theory” and which books politicians wanted to ban and more concerned about providing all students an opportunity to succeed, creating safe school environments, equipping students with critical thinking and life skills, preventing teacher shortages and retaining them through promotion, and keeping class sizes manageable. Two-thirds of parents said “culture war” issues were a distraction from schools’ mission to educate students.

These findings showed that a majority of parents were less concerned about political infighting over hot-button issues and more focused on making sure that students’ needs were met and that they be the focus of educators and politicians alike.

We have seen this play out in places such as Pennsylvania’s Parkland School District. A slate of candidates ran against conservatives backed by the conservative group Moms for Liberty who sought to make inroads with parents by demanding more parental control and opposing what was happening in education locally. When I trained this Lehigh Valley group of candidates, I emphasized how we needed to be strategic about not getting drawn into a political debate and instead focusing on the issues.

I believe in public officials leading from a place of pride in their local schools instead of disparaging them, given that parents are generally supportive and protective of their teachers and schools, no matter their voting preferences. When candidates talk about their vision for preparing classrooms with the resources every child needs to learn, addressing the challenges but speaking with hope, that is when they connect with their base and make strides toward winning. Preparing our children to achieve their goals from an early age so they can thrive in college and future careers is what we can all find common ground on.

The candidates who made up this slate, who labeled their campaign “Proud of Parkland,” aimed to celebrate student achievement and show they are protecting what they love about our schools in the face of politicians trying to weaken funding or curriculum. These officials advocated for the strength of our community, the excellence of our educators and the limitless potential of every student. They demonstrated a commitment to preserving Parkland’s core values and pioneering forward-thinking initiatives, to envision an even brighter future for our district.

As one of our candidates, Chris Pirrotta, said, he believes in “having faith in the folks working hard for our kids every day, and listening to the concerns of the community for the betterment of us all.” He demonstrated active listening, took in feedback from parents and demonstrated trust for professional educators. And it was this strategy that cemented his victory.

With a localized message of each parent’s engagement in their schools, the Parkland slate claimed victory. These candidates were 22 whom Rust Belt Rising helped win local office.

Democrats can extend this approach to other issues beyond education.

The debate that Democrats have to choose between fighting for social issues or having a strong economic message that resonates with Republicans is a false choice. We can say that we will protect Americans’ freedoms against abortion bans while fighting for working families through creating good jobs, affordable health and child care, fully funded schools and a secure retirement. As our Parkland candidates showed, actively listening and meeting voters where they are by talking about the issues first and leaving the “politics” behind will give Democrats the edge in this year’s elections.

Americans are tired of division and extremism. They will choose a candidate who is focused on the substance of bettering their lives over political pandering every single time.

It is hard to remember what matters in the constant media cycle and age of political polarization. But if we remember to get back to the basics, Democrats can win in 2024 from the top of the ticket, all the way down the ballot.

Paul Kendrick is executive director of Rust Belt Rising, which has trained more than 1,110 Democratic leaders in the six Great Lakes states to strengthen democratic infrastructure in the Rust Belt. Kendrick served on President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign and Ill. Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s 2018 campaign.