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Brody Rutledge, 25, spent much of 2026 balancing 60 hour workweeks, raising four children and helping Democrats campaign in Ohio. The electrician joined union members planning social media efforts for gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton and Senate candidate Sherrod Brown.

Rutledge created posts and videos during lunch, work breaks and after his children went to sleep, seeking to raise both candidates’ profiles among blue collar voters. Acton and Brown won, contributing to Democratic victories in Washington and statehouses, including states previously considered reliably Republican or leaning Republican.

“People are realizing that there needs to be a change,” Rutledge told CNBC. “We are extremely excited with the results.”

Organized labor regarded the campaign as one of its largest political efforts. Unions spent millions of dollars and mobilized thousands of members to support Democratic turnout, but labor leaders now expect the politicians they helped elect to address inflation, worker protections and union employment.

The AFL-CIO launched a paid media campaign costing seven figures and said members had contacted nearly 15 million voters since Labor Day. According to the federation, more than 600 union members won election in the midterm, including dozens headed to Washington and hundreds bound for statehouses.

The CNBC Voter Poll found that union members and voters living in union households favored Democrats over Republicans by 22 percentage points. That was the widest margin across the past four election cycles and more than twice the 10 percentage point margin among voters from nonunion households.

“We are very proud of the impact that the labor movement made on this election,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said. “It was our biggest and boldest effort ever.”

Some unions acted before party nominees were settled. In Michigan, the United Auto Workers supported Democrat Abdul El-Sayed before a contentious U.S. Senate primary against Haley Stevens, and the union estimated its members represented about one in every 10 early voters in that August contest.

El-Sayed ultimately won the primary and then prevailed in the general election. Jocelyn Benson, the Democratic nominee for Michigan governor who also received early UAW support, won her race as Michigan shifted after backing President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2024.

On the eve of Election Day, the UAW held a rally featuring El-Sayed, Benson and other Democrats seeking statewide office. The Detroit union said volunteers knocked on more than 100,000 doors and made half a million telephone calls during the election campaign.

Union households represented about 22% of Michigan’s 2026 midterm electorate, compared with a 16% nationwide mean, according to the CNBC Voter Poll. Those households supported El-Sayed and Benson by margins of 25 and 27 points, respectively.

“There’s a direct correlation between a ballot box and a bread box,” UAW President Shawn Fain said. He described the union’s 2026 political operation as the largest of his lifetime and warned that legislative action can reverse gains secured through collective bargaining.

In Nevada, members of AFL-CIO unions canvassed for candidates including Aaron Ford, the Democrat who defeated Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. The federation also endorsed candidates in state assembly, mayoral and city council contests.

Union support for Democrats had weakened before 2026 as members confronted inflation and affordability concerns, according to Pennsylvania State University professor Paul Clark. National Election Pool polling showed union households favored Democrats by 16 percentage points in 2020 and 15 percentage points in 2022, before the margin narrowed to 8 points in 2024.

The Teamsters declined to endorse either Trump or former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, breaking with its long record of Democratic endorsements. The union, which has more than one million members, said its internal polling showed members preferred Trump over Harris.

Enthusiasm appeared stronger this time, with AFL-CIO polling showing 83% of union voters were “very motivated” to participate. That figure was 10 points higher than during the 2022 midterm election.

Labor’s expectations are now focused on legislative results. Rutledge said his International Brotherhood of Electric Workers chapter wants new data center construction projects in Ohio to use union labor, while Fain said the UAW expects Michigan’s Democratic legislative majority to guarantee unemployment insurance for striking workers.

“The days of just blindly giving our endorsements to people because of party affiliation are over,” Fain said. “They’re going to earn our support.”

Union leaders warned they could withdraw support in 2028 and beyond if Democrats fail to act while holding legislative majorities in Washington. The CNBC Voter Poll found 70% of respondents believed the economy favors wealthy Americans over the middle and working classes.

“Republican, Democrat, independent, we’ll be with you if you’re with us,” Shuler said. “It just so happens that we had a big wave of Democratic candidates who were talking about working-class issues.”

DISCLAIMER: GoldInvestors.news is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or broker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed by GoldInvestors.news are from the personal research and experience of the owner of the site and are intended as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.