These U.S. Senate and governor races could impact your small business.
As we head into the final months before the 2014 midterm elections,
candidates are gearing up for the push to the finish line. With strong anti-incumbency
sentiment nationwide, unhappiness with the Affordable Care Act, congressional
retirements and the emergence of competitive challengers, the midterm elections
may potentially usher in a more business-friendly climate, particularly in the U.S.
Senate, which may see a change in majority if Republicans gain six seats. Here
are some Senate and governor races to watch.
U.S. Senate Midterm
Election Races to Watch
Colorado: Rep. Cory
Gardner (R) vs. incumbent Sen. Mark Udall (D)
Representative Gardner served for five years in the Colorado state
legislature before getting elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010,
representing Colorado’s 4th Congressional District. Since being
sworn in, he co-sponsored a balanced budget amendment, voted to cut 5 percent
from his congressional office budget, and introduced legislation that would
help small business owners and families save for college. Gardner, with a 100
percent NFIB voting record, has a history of standing up for families and small
businesses, advocating for lower taxes, and fighting against regulations that
hurt farmers and obstruct job growth. His family’s farm equipment dealership
has been a longtime NFIB member. Senator Udall, on the other hand, has a 23
percent lifetime NFIB voting record.
Iowa: U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley (D) vs. State
Sen. Joni Ernst (R)
State Sen.
Joni Ernst was elected to the Iowa State Senate in 2011 and there she has fought
for fiscal responsibility, tax relief, better education, job growth and limited
government. Prior to that, from 2004 to 2010, she served as the Montgomery
County Auditor, where she worked for taxpayer savings, government
accountability and elimination of government waste. State Sen. Ernst has more
than 19 years of service in the U.S. Army Reserves and Iowa Army National
Guard, as well as a tour in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 to 2004. Ernst’s
opponent, Rep. Bruce Braley, has an 18 percent NFIB voting record.
Other Senate Races to
Watch:
*NFIB lifetime voting record percentages noted where applicable.
Arkansas: U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton
(R), 100 percent vs. Sen. Mark Pryor (D), 49 percent
Georgia: U.S. Rep. Jack
Kingston, 98 percent/Businessman David Perdue (R) (candidate to be determined
by July 22 runoff) vs. Non-profit group director Michelle Nunn (D)
Kentucky: Sen. Mitch McConnell
(R), 95 percent vs. Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D)
Michigan: Former Secretary of
State Terri Lynn Land (R) vs. U.S. Rep. Gary Peters (D), 14 percent
North Carolina: Sstate Rep. and
House Speaker Thom Tillis (R) vs. Sen. Kay Hagan (D), 28 percent
Oregon: Dr. Monica Wehby (R)
vs. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D), 15 percent
West Virginia: U.S. Rep. Shelley
Moore Capito (R – 94 percent) vs. Secretary of State Natalie Tennant (D)
Key 2014 Governor
Races to Watch
Florida: Former Gov.
Charlie Crist (D) vs. Gov. Rick Scott (R) vs.
Governor Scott was elected in 2010, and since then, he has introduced
tax cuts, cut regulations and pared down the state debt. More than half a
million private sector jobs have been created, and Florida’s overall business
and educational environments have improved. Scott also has experience as a
businessman, entrepreneur and innovator—in 1987 he started Columbia Hospital
Corporation, which was one of the largest healthcare companies in the world by
the time he left in 1997. He also founded Conservatives for Patients’ Rights to
advocate for a free-market approach to healthcare, based on choice,
competition, accountability and personal responsibility. Crist, who served as
governor prior to Scott, left the Republican Party ahead of an unsuccessful bid
for U.S. Senate in 2010.
Pennsylvania: Gov.
Tom Corbett (R) vs. Tom Wolf (D)
Since taking office in January 2011, Governor Corbett has worked to put
Pennsylvanians back to work, reduce taxes, rein in government spending and make
government more open, transparent, accountable and trustworthy. His top
priorities have included job creation, fixing the pension crisis and investing
in education. He hasn’t shied away from tough choices in his first term,
either. When faced with a $4 billion deficit upon taking office, The New York Times reports, he still
kept his word to not raise taxes and to cut spending. Wolf, a businessman and
former state revenue secretary, has pledged to restart the state’s
manufacturing sector and create middle-class jobs.
Other Governor Races
to Watch:
Illinois: Bruce Rauner (R) vs.
Gov. Pat Quinn (D)
Michigan: Former U.S. Rep. Mark
Schauer (D) vs. Gov. Rick Snyder (R)
Maine: Eliot Cutler (I) vs. Gov.
Paul LePage (R) vs. U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud (D)
Ohio: Gov. Ed FitzGerald
(D) vs. John Kasich (R)
South Carolina: Gov. Nikki Haley (R)
vs. state Sen. Vincent Sheheen (D)
Wisconsin: Mary Burke (D) vs. Gov.
Scott Walker (R)
To learn more about these and other candidates, visit grassroots.www.nfib.com and select “Find
Your Candidates.” Or you can email Sharon
Sussin, NFIB’s
National Political Director.
To keep up to date on NFIB’s political activity, please follow us on
Facebook at NFIB Action and on Twitter @NFIBAction.
