When we stand together, we win.
That’s how AFGE successfully got our endorsed candidates elected left and right on Nov. 7 in states where key issues were decided, setting the stage for the presidential election next year.
For months, we worked hard to get out the vote and educate union members on why these races were important to them and their families. We knocked on doors, we texted, we phone banked, we mailed materials, and our efforts paid off. Congratulations to working people and everyone involved!
Here are some of the highlights of the election night:
In Kentucky, AFGE-endorsed Governor Andy Beshear won his re-election by a 5.8% margin (as of election night) — a 5.4% increase over the margin of his victory in 2019.
In Virginia, we helped flip the House of Delegates and hold onto the State Senate as AFGE-endorsed candidates up and down the ballot won. This helps dim Governor Youngkin’s aspirations for higher office and his anti-labor policies, including his proposed change to eliminate labor history from Virginia’s educational curriculum.
AFGE had over 30 volunteers participate in a canvass walk and a phone bank in the final days in Virginia’s State Senate District 16, which was occupied by anti-worker Senator Siobhan Dunnavant. AFGE made hundreds of voter contacts alongside AFL-CIO allies. In the end, those efforts paid off and we successfully flipped SD-16 and delivered a victory for AFL-CIO and AFGE-endorsed candidate Schuyler VanValkenburg.
On top of all of that, AFGE was the top union in the state for Phone Bank volunteer shifts.
In Ohio, two members of AFGE Local 31 successfully won their elections for local nonpartisan city council races — Chuck Bonacci in Twinsburg and Chanell Elston in South Euclid.
In Pennsylvania, AFL-CIO endorsed candidate Daniel McCaffery won the race for the state Supreme Court. This maintains the 4-2 pro-worker majority on the state’s Supreme Court, helping protect against potential anti-union attacks in the future. AFGE provided support to AFL-CIO programs in the state to aid the labor-to-labor program.
In New Jersey, the labor community successfully defended their pro-worker majorities in both the General Assembly and the State Senate.
“This was a very strong night for AFGE, the AFL-CIO, and working people everywhere,” said AFGE National Political Director Kevin Cooper. “We cannot afford to sit on the sidelines. Our efforts in this election paid off in a big way and helps us protect against anti-union attacks in communities all over the country.”
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