WASHINGTON––Congressional candidates in races credit unions were especially watching and who had received financial backing from the largest CU PAC all won their races during Super Tuesday’s elections.
While the focus of much of the nation was on the Democratic presidential candidates on Super Tuesday—with the field apparently now narrowed to Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders—there were also key congressional races taking place in 14 states. In five of those states – Alabama, Arkansas, California, North Carolina and Texas--the respective state leagues along with the Credit Union Legislative Action Council (CULAC), CUNA’s PAC, made political contributions, according to Trey Hawkins, CUNA’s deputy chief officer for political action.
In total, CUNA said CULAC and the various state leagues supported a combined 96 candidates for the U.S. House and Senate on the ballot in those states. Of those, 94 have successfully advanced (two races were still to be called as of this reporting). In these outstanding races, each credit union-supported candidate leads in their respective tallies.
In January, CUNA said it and the state league system will spend a record $7-million during the 2020 election cycle to support congressional candidates on both sides of the aisle. That’s after the Credit Union Legislative Action Council reported a fundraising total in excess of $2.8 million for 2019. The amount raised was a record high in the four-decade-plus history of CULAC, according to CUNA.
In the Super Tuesday elections Hawkins cited several races in which CULAC was especially active.
In Texas, credit unions supported two incumbents. In the 12th district, CULAC and the Cornerstone Credit Union League contributed to the re-election bid of Rep. Kay Granger (R), who won the Republican primary with 58% of the vote. Granger will face Democrat Lisa Welch, who won 81% of the vote, in November’s elections.
In Texas’ 28th district, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D) narrowly won the Democratic primary with 37,972 votes, defeating 26-year-old challenger Jessica Cisneros, who attracted 35,625 votes. Cuellar has represented the district for 15 years.
Both incumbents have been strong credit union supporters, Hawkins said earlier.
One Unique Race
Also in Texas, credit unions put their support behind Gina Ortiz Jones, a former Air Force intelligence officer, who narrowly lost in the prior election. Ortiz Jones won the Democratic primary by a wide margin with 66.7% of the vote.
In North Carolina, where a number of seats are open due to redistricting and several Republican incumbents have opted not to seek reelection, CULAC and the Carolinas CU League supported State Rep. Deborah Ross (D), who won the Democratic primary. Ross will now face Republican Alain Swain in November in a district that leans Democratic.
In the 25th district in Southern California, where there is something of a unique situation as candidates vied to fill a seat vacated by the resignation of Democrat Katie Hill, California State Assemblywoman Christy Smith won a special election to fill the remainder of Hill’s term. Smith had support from both the California league and CULAC.
Smith also appeared separately on the ballot in the Democratic primary in November for the same seat. Smith won that race, as well.