SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Much ink has been spilt about the how the Republican Party has become a “house divided,” with GOP “establishment” leaders doing battle with the more conservative Tea Party activists over issues ranging from immigration to government spending.

But the Democratic Party is also dealing with some internal strife, especially over where the party stands on education reform policies. That split may be most obvious in the Democratic primary race for California’s top education job.

Reuters reports that current State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson is being challenged by Marshall Tuck, a former charter school executive.

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Torlakson is the choice of the Democrat Party’s power brokers and the state’s teacher unions. That’s no surprise, as he supports preserving bulletproof job protections for teachers and believes there’s nothing wrong with the state’s public schools that more money can’t fix.

Tuck, on the other hand, “opposes rules that require teachers with the least seniority to be the first fired during layoffs, and is against granting teachers tenure after just two years on the job,” Reuters reports. He stops short, however, of supporting vouchers that would allow low-income families to send their children to the private school of their choice.

Tuck’s openness to substantive K-12 reform has led to financial support from former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad.

He may also receive support from traditional Democratic voters who are tired of seeing the state’s education system fail children and are demanding serious changes. As Reuters reports, “Policy experts in California say that increasingly, Democrats are supporting elements of the reform agenda.”

California isn’t the only state where pro-union Democrats will do battle with reform-minded party members. The news site adds that a total of six states will be electing new superintendents of schools this year, with 13 more states electing governors who will appoint their state’s top education leader.

It’s unclear if Democrats who support education reform feel so strongly about the policies that they’d consider voting for a Republican if their preferred candidate doesn’t get the party’s nomination. Our guess is education reform isn’t enough of an issue to split the party.

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However, it does appear that Democrats are willing to accept candidates who oppose the teacher unions’ agenda, even in union-dominated states like California. That’s a pretty significant shift, one that suggests the unionists’ power is waning within the party.

California’s primary will be June 3.