Skip to main content

Director's Corner: 2024 Down Ballot Races

By Brian Weeks, Political Director ·

In this first iteration of the Director’s Blog in 2024, I want to offer my general thoughts on the 2024 elections and focus on some down ballot races that I’m watching closely. 

First, enthusiasm to vote this year, and in the 2024 elections in general, seems to be a major factor as we head into the summer months. To me, this means we need to double down on in-person conversations and meeting people where they are at. We need to cut through the noise and mainstream media to have real conversations with voters. In particular, we need to identify local influencers and others who can best relate to voters. 

Grassroots organizing, field and targeted digital remain high priorities for our union as we believe this kind of direct voter contact is most needed, especially in light of the enthusiasm issue. And we need to listen to voters, find out what is really on their minds, and develop our outreach plans accordingly. 

In a future post, I’ll discuss the presidential race in greater detail, but in this initial installment, I’ll focus on some House races, state legislative chambers and other down ballot contests. 

I believe wholeheartedly that working people can help reclaim the House of Representatives. At AFSCME, we launched a Take Back the House program and are working in targeted districts across the country to help protect key allies who have always had our back and lift up some challengers who would be a strong voice for organized labor in the halls of Congress. Some of the races I’m paying particular attention to include: 

State legislative races are vitally important to AFSCME, and gaining or maintaining control of state legislative chambers on behalf of working people is one of our highest priorities. States in which I’m watching closely this year include: 

One other race worth mentioning that is of particular interest to me is the Attorney General’s race in Pennsylvania. Eugene DePasquale is our endorsed candidate there and a true ally of working people in the state.