COVID-19 has caused a lot of misery all around, but especially inconvenienced parents.

In the dark days of the pandemic, schools closed for months, and the problems of virtual learning left people angry.

I was mad the school board closed and there didn't seem to be any plan or any idea and when it reopen or how we're open or anything.

Todd Kaufman's a dad in Virginia where last year, frustrations over these closures slammed

into the nation's culture war and tipped an election.

In a stunning victory, Republican Glenn Yunkin won the Virginia governor's race, a major

political turnabout in a state that had been trending increasingly blue.

Our kids can't wait. We work in real people time, not government time.

It all started in a place called Loudoun County.

I'm Gustav Varyano.

You're listening to The Times, essential news from the L.A. Times.

It's Monday, August 15, 2022.

Today, how conservative parents in Virginia started a powerful nationwide movement and how Democrats are trying to win this important voting block back.

This episode is part of our ongoing coverage of the 2022 midterm elections,

some of the most contentious midterm elections that this country has ever seen.

My Lai Times colleague and White House reporter Courtney Suburmanian has been reporting on parent voters ahead of this year's midterms.

Courtney, welcome the Times.

Thanks for having me.

So already political observers are pointing to what happened in Loudoun County last year as a political revolution.

But what exactly happened?

Well, I think it's important to first

acknowledge Loudoun County's history. It's one of the wealthiest counties in the nation,

...