WASHINGTON–Credit unions are watching primary elections in seven states today, with special attention being given to three races. In an eighth state, Idaho, it’s the final day for mail ballots to be received and counted.
Primaries are taking place in Iowa, Indiana, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and South Dakota.
Trey Hawkins, vice president of political affairs with CUNA, said the trade group and its state leagues are backing 39 candidates for the House and Senate.
Particular attention is being paid to:
- The senate race in New Mexico, where a vacancy has been created by the retirement of Sen. Tom Udall. The Credit Union Legislative Action Committee and the New Mexico CU League are backing Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) in the primary and the general election in November.
- With Lujan looking to leave the House and join the Senate, seven Democratic candidates and four Republicans are seeking to fill his seat. Credit unions are backing Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez in the primary.
- In Maryland’s seventh district, CULAC and the Maryland/DC Credit Union Association are supporting Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-MD) n the primary. Mfume won a special election to fill out the remainder of the term of former Rep. Elijah Cummings, who died in 2019, and is running for the full term. There are 19 candidates seeking the seat.