With pro-small business control of Congress on the line, and issues like taxes, healthcare, regulations, and judicial nominations at stake, NFIB endorsed 272 congressional candidates, ran independent expenditure campaigns in three states, and deployed road teams in large states including Florida, Tennessee, Virginia, Indiana, and Missouri.
“We did elect a good number of pro-Small Business candidates,” NFIB’s National Political Director Sharon Sussin said. “We’re always pleased to have people in Congress who know what our members face.”
There was a shift in power in last night’s crucial 2018 mid-term elections, with Republicans losing seats in the United States House of Representatives but gaining two seats in the United States Senate.
At press time, Democrats controlled 220 seats, while Republicans held 193. Meanwhile, Republicans gained two Senate seats, controlling the chamber by a 51-46 margin as of Wednesday, with Arizona and Florida too close to call.
“Overall, there’s still a handful of races that haven’t been called yet, but the big takeaway is that four new NFIB members were elected,” Sussin said. Those include Indiana’s Mike Braun in the U.S. Senate; Kevin Hern in Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District; Pete Stauber in Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District; and John Rose in Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District.
Of the 46 states that held state elections, Governor and both chambers of the state legislature (a trifecta) resulted in Republicans with 22 states, Democrats with 14 states, 13 states with divided control, and Georgia undecided at the time this piece was published.
“With Republicans holding historic levels of state legislative chambers and Governorships, it was not surprising to see some of these states flip from Republican to Democrat,” said Tim Goodrich, NFIB’s Executive Director of State Government Relations. “Regardless of the outcomes, NFIB looks forward to working with the new and returning administrations to further the concerns of small business owners.”
For small business owners, protecting the tax cuts, including the Small Business Pass-Through Deduction, will be a key priority.
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