When Brody Rutledge wasn’t working 60-hour weeks or raising four children this year, he was busy securing political victories for Democrats.
The 25-year-old was part of a group of Ohio union members who planned a social media attack in support of Amy Acton’s gubernatorial campaign and Sherrod Brown’s effort to retake his Senate seat. During lunch, during recess, and after the kids were asleep, the electrician helped create posts and videos to raise the profile of the two candidates among blue-collar voters.
The post garnered more than 15,000 views.
Mr. Rutledge’s efforts paid off, with Mr. Acton and Mr. Brown winning their respective elections and becoming part of a blue wave that brought Democrats to power in Washington and statehouses across the country — including many states like Ohio that were considered Republican-leaning or reliably Republican.
“People are realizing that change is needed,” Rutledge told CNBC. “We are very excited about this result.”
Rutledge was part of what organized labor considered one of the largest political movements ever. Labor unions spent millions of dollars and mobilized thousands of members to vote Democratic in the midterm elections. Now they expect newly elected politicians to deliver results.
They argue that Democrats need to address inflation, enact worker protections and provide union jobs.
historical mobilization
The AFL-CIO launched a seven-figure paid media campaign for the election and said its members have engaged with nearly 15 million voters since Labor Day. More than 600 union members were elected in the midterm elections, including dozens heading to Washington and hundreds heading to state capitols, according to AFL-CIO counts.
Midterm voters who were union members or lived in union households favored Democrats over Republicans by a 22 percentage point margin, the highest in the past four election cycles, according to a CNBC voter poll. This is more than double the difference for the remaining voters. When looking at voters from non-union households, the gap narrowed to 10 percentage points.
“I’m very proud of the impact the labor movement had on this election,” said Liz Schuller, president of the AFL-CIO, a federation of unions representing about 15 million workers. “This was our biggest and boldest effort to date.”
In some cases, unions were involved before party candidates were decided.
In Michigan, the United Auto Workers union organized behind Democrat Abdul El-Sayed ahead of a controversial Senate primary that he ultimately defeated Haley Stevens. The union believes about 1 in 10 early voters in the August primary were UAW members.
Conor Farrell, a progressive fundraiser who worked with El-Sayed, called the UAW’s support “incredibly impactful.” “I don’t know if we would have won without them.”
Members of the United Auto Workers hold a rally with Abdul El-Sayed and other leading Democratic candidates on the eve of the midterm elections.
Jim West | UCG | Universal Images Group | Getty Images
El-Sayed and Jocelyn Benson, a Democratic candidate for Michigan governor who also received early support from the UAW, sought victory in last week’s general election. This was a sharp reversal for the Wolverine State, which supported President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2024.
The UAW held a rally the night before Election Day, led by El-Sayed and Benson, as well as other Democrats running for statewide office. The Detroit-based union said its volunteers knocked on more than 100,000 doors and made 500,000 phone calls for the election.
According to a CNBC voter poll, union households will make up about 22% of voters in Michigan in the 2026 midterm, compared to the national average of 16%. Michigan’s union households scored 25 points and 27 points above El-Sayed and Benson’s averages, respectively.
“There’s a direct correlation between the ballot box and the bread box,” UAW President Sean Fein said, calling the union’s 2026 political effort the biggest effort of its lifetime. “What we negotiate today could be taken up in Congress tomorrow.”
In Nevada, another battleground state, AFL and CIO union members fought for a list of candidates that included Democrat Aaron Ford, who ousted Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. The AFL-CIO voted no, endorsing candidates for statehouse, mayoral, and city council elections.
Vladimir Ortega, a North Las Vegas resident and member of the National Association of Letter Carriers, said he volunteered to negotiate with the AFL-CIO for the first time because he was dissatisfied with the way Republicans were running the economy. The 34-year-old met with Ford and other candidates at political events and plans to volunteer for an AFL-CIO-backed candidate again in 2028.
“People felt like they had to be there,” Ortega said. “Their money is hurting, so they want to do something about it.”
Vladimir Ortega poses for a photo with incoming Nevada Governor Aaron Ford.
Provided by: Vladimir Ortega
break through fatigue
For generations, union voters and their families have been a core bloc of the Democratic Party. But the party’s iron grip on organized labor has eroded in recent election cycles as union members, like other working-class voters, have grown frustrated with high inflation and affordability challenges, said Paul Clark, a professor at Pennsylvania State University.
Union households voted for Democrats by 16 and 15 point margins in the 2020 and 2022 elections, respectively, according to a National Election Commission poll. By 2024, that gap had narrowed to just 8 percentage points, and voters’ economic dissatisfaction gave Republicans control of the presidential triumvirate and the House and Senate in Washington.
The Teamsters refused to endorse Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, breaking their long history of support for Democrats. The union, which has more than 1 million members, announced that an internal survey found that its members support Trump over Harris.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said on social media that he voted for Florida Senate Republican candidate Ashley Moody, who won the 2026 midterm elections. The Teamsters did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
“Obviously, 2024 was a very disappointing year for unions and the American labor movement,” said Penn State’s Clark, who has written on collective bargaining and organized labor. “This has caused unions to be introspective in terms of their political strategy and how they communicate about politics with their members.”
Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks at a campaign rally at UAW Local 600 on October 30, 2026 in Dearborn, Michigan.
Jeff Kowalski | AFP | Getty Images
This time, there seemed to be even more excitement among union members heading to the polls with their cards in hand. An AFL-CIO poll showed 83% of union voters were “very willing” to vote, an increase of 10 points from the last midterm elections in 2022.
In the wake of the midterm election loss, Clark said he wouldn’t be surprised if Republicans courted labor unions ahead of the 2028 presidential election. But Clark said it could be an uphill battle, given the party’s history of championing corporate interests over workers.
high expectations
Looking ahead, organized labor has high hopes for Democrats after helping them win power in Washington and statehouses across the country.
In Ohio, Rutledge said his International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers chapter is focused on ensuring new data center construction projects utilize union labor. In Michigan, UAW President Fein said the union expects the Democratic-controlled state legislature to approve legislation guaranteeing unemployment benefits to striking workers.
“The days of blindly supporting someone based on their political affiliation are over,” Fein said. “They will have our support.”
United Auto Workers Union President Sean Fein speaks at Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s midterm election night party at Hudson’s department store on November 3, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan.
Jeff Kowalski | AFP | Getty Images
Union leaders have warned that if Democrats don’t act while they hold a congressional majority in Washington, they will end their support after 2028.
AFL CIO President Schuller said union voters across the country went to the polls last week hoping to enact policies that would level the economic playing field. According to a CNBC voter poll, 70% of respondents believe the U.S. economy favors the wealthy over the middle and working classes.
“Republicans, Democrats, Independents, if you’re with us, we’re with you,” Schuller said. “It just so happened that there was a big wave of Democratic candidates talking about working-class issues.”
