This article is adapted, with permission, from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Journal by Herald Grandstaff.

Editor's Note: This article was published in the Graphic Communicator before the death of Minnesota's Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone. Please see separate article for more information on the Senate race in Minnesota.

Prosperity of the 1990s seems like a distant memory. U.S. homeland security has been shaken. The corporate greedfest has undermined the economy, damaged the pension funds of working people, and hurt the job outlook – perhaps for years.

In this atmosphere, U.S. citizens go the polls on Nov. 5.

In this issue, the Graphic Communicator, with its adaptation, reports on some of the key races that will determine how those issues are resolved.

Due to redistricting and the power of incumbency, there are only a relatively few races for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives that are truly competitive. Yet, these few will determine whether long-time GCIU friend and labor ally Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) takes the reins as speaker of the House, or whether the agenda continues to be set by current Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and his chief deputy Tom DeLay (R-Texas), the darling of nonunion construction contractors, Enron, and every other corporate force that would like to get rid of unions.

In the Senate, the fortunes of working people changed dramatically when Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) took the majority leader post from the staunchly anti-labor Trent Lott (R-Miss.). The switch of Sen. James M. Jeffords from Republican to Independent gave the Democrats a one-vote majority, but that was enough to change the tone of the agenda in that chamber. The Senate has been a vital roadblock to many of the Bush administration's initiatives that would erode the rights of working people.

Below are noted some of the most competitive Senate and House races where GCIU members can make a crucial difference.

Arkansas

Incumbent Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R) is being challenged by Mark Pryor, attorney general and son of longtime Sen. David Pryor. In his first term, Hutchinson's personal behavior has angered some of his conservative supporters. On the issues, Hutchinson sided against working families 70 percent of the time. The AFL-CIO has been running ads critical of Hutchinson's support of presidential trade-promotion authority legislation.

As attorney general, Pryor established a record on issues such as consumer protection and Medicare fraud. He is committed to preserving and protecting Social Security and helping pass a strong, enforceable Patients' Bill of Rights.

Georgia

Sen. Max Cleland is vying for a second term against Republican nominee Saxby Chambliss. Cleland, who served in Vietnam where he was severely injured in a grenade explosion, has been a popular moderate on matters of concern to working families.

Chambliss, who is serving his fourth term as a congressman, voted against the interests of labor by voting for fast track trade authority for President Bush and in favor of President Bush's tax cut for the richest Americans.

Iowa

Labor stalwart Sen. Tom Harkin (D) is running for his fourth term. He faces a challenge from four-term congressman Greg Ganske (R). Harkin is a reliable vote for labor on collective bargaining and ergonomics. Preserving Social Security is the centerpiece of Harkin's re-election campaign, along with affordable health care, prescription drugs for seniors, and job creation.

Ganske, a doctor, has co-sponsored House legislation to privatize Social Security. Ganske also is a reliable vote against working families on trade legislation.

Minnesota

Sen. Paul Wellstone is a solid labor supporter. This year's race against former St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman is extremely close, with political pundits calling it a tossup. Wellstone has a record of accomplishment in his 12 years in the Senate. He and Sen. Jim Jeffords worked to open up borders to allow drug re-importation so Americans could buy cheaper prescription drugs. A former college professor and a master grassroots political organizer, Wellstone led a successful fight to raise the federal minimum wage, and he supported legislation to prevent corporations from raiding seniors' pension funds. Wellstone also sponsored a law consolidating separate federal vocational education, adult education, and job training programs, and improving coordination among programs.

Missouri

Two years ago, labor endorsed Jean Carnahan's husband, Mel, for the seat then held by U.S. Atty. Gen. John D. Ashcroft. Voters elected Carnahan posthumously with the understanding his wife would be appointed by the governor. Nov. 5 will be the first time Jean Carnahan will be tested by voters for the right to fulfill the remaining four years of the term. She has spent two years in the Senate accumulating a record based on safeguarding Social Security and Medicare and improving education.

Former Rep. Jim Talent (R) is challenging her for the seat. Talent, a lawyer and career politician with a conservative political agenda, spent eight years in Congress before an unsuccessful bid for governor in 2000. On issues of importance to working families, Talent has a lifetime labor voting record of 3 percent. He consistently voted against workers on trade, minimum wage, and prescription drug benefits for Medicare recipients.

Alabama (3rd District)

Joe Turnham, former chairman of the state Democratic party, faces state Rep. Mike Rogers for an open seat in east central Alabama. An energetic campaigner who has earned a national reputation as a "faith and values" Democrat, Turnham emphasizes retaining quality jobs as a top issue.

Rogers, who served two terms in the state House of Representatives, is running on a family values platform.

Georgia (3rd District)

This new seat in central Georgia is contested by two strong local politicians – Democrat Jim Marshall, a former Macon mayor, and Republican Calder Clay, a Bibb County commissioner. Marshall, a Vietnam veteran who challenged Rep. Saxby Chambliss for the seat two years ago, has been endorsed by the state AFL-CIO. Marshall is running on job creation and access to health in the rural district. He also emphasizes a strong public educational system and domestic security.

Clay has been enthusiastically endorsed by the Associated Builders and Contractors of Georgia, the rampantly anti-union construction association in this right to work (for less) state.

Indiana (2nd District)

President Bush and Vice President Cheney have made campaign stops for Chris Chocola, the Republican nominee. He faces Democrat Jill Long-Thompson, who served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 4th Congressional District before she became a Department of Agriculture official.

A longtime political activist, Long-Thompson always voted against unfair trade legislation such as fast track trade authority and NAFTA. She is committed to protecting pensions and Social Security and winning prescription drug coverage for seniors under Medicare.

Chocola, who is independently wealthy, supports the privatization of Social Security.

Iowa (4th District)

The race in Iowa's new Fourth District in north-central and northeastern Iowa pits Democrat John Norris against incumbent Tom Latham, a Republican. A former top aide to Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, Norris is a longtime farm and community activist running to ensure quality jobs with good wages and benefits for working families. Norris is also campaigning on Social Security, Medicare, education and health care.

In critical votes last year, Latham voted against working families 78 percent of the time. Latham also supported Social Security privatization and raiding the Social Security trust fund to pay for President Bush's tax cut for the wealthy.

Minnesota (2nd District)

Congressman Bill Luther, a Democrat, will take on Republican John Kline for this newly drawn district in southeastern Minnesota. Luther, whose Sixth District seat was dismantled in the redistricting process, beat Kline in two previous contests. That could change Nov. 5, because this district south of the Twin Cities is considered more conservative than Luther's former seat. Since 1995, Luther has been fighting in Washington for common sense approaches to balancing the nation's budget, strengthening education, and protecting working families' retirement security. The son of a dairy farmer, Luther has voted with working families 89 percent of the time in the current Congress.

Kline, a retired U.S. Marine colonel, has most recently been an executive at a conservative think tank called the Center of American Experiment. Kline has been enthusiastically endorsed by the pro-business fundraising organization, BIPAC.

Mississippi (3rd District)

This race pits two incumbents in one reconfigured district. Democrat Ronnie Shows, a two-term congressman, has distinguished himself as a fighter for America's seniors, children, and working families. An advocate for Social Security, health care and preserving family wage jobs, Shows was a key member of the House team that produced the corporate accountability legislation that became law last summer.

Rep. Charles Pickering, a three-term Republican, is Shows' opponent. Pickering supports President Bush's plans to privatize Social Security. After promising to protect Social Security, Pickering broke the trust of seniors in Mississippi by voting to raid the Social Security trust fund by $800 billion. On issues important to working families, Pickering voted wrong 78 percent of the time.

Pennsylvania (17th District)

Democratic Rep. Tim Holden, a reliable ally of working families, faces 10-term Republican Rep. George Gekas, thanks to redistricting. Holden, who has voted with working families 100 percent on crucial votes in the past two years, is the great grandson of the founder of the organization that later became the United Mine Workers of America. Although he has represented part of eastern Pennsylvania for 10 years, Holden is the underdog running in a district that is 60 percent new territory for him. Republicans outnumber Democrats here by more than 50,000. He has been a solid vote for labor, opposing NAFTA and Trade Promotion Authority while supporting ergonomics legislation and the minimum wage increase.

Gekas voted against working families issues 78 percent of the time and received a 100 percent rating from pro-business group, BIPAC, for his stance on a variety of issues organized labor opposes.

Texas (11th District)

Incumbent Chet Edwards, a Democrat, has served the central Texas district for 11 years, where he has established himself as an advocate for working families, improved schools, and protected the Social Security system for seniors. On critical votes, Edwards sided with working families 100 percent of the time. Edwards' district includes the town of Crawford, where President Bush's ranch is located. Edwards voted against granting President Bush fast track trade authority. In a district drawn to include a Republican-friendly county, Edwards will again face 2000 challenger Ramsey Farley.

A retired oil company executive and business owner, Farley is running with the help of President Bush, who has appeared in a campaign commercial. Farley is waging a negative campaign against Edwards.

Republican members deserving support

The Republican leadership in the House is staunchly anti-union, but many individual Republican members have supported working families on important votes. The following GOP members of the House deserve mention for showing leadership in working with organized labor for balanced and fair legislation:

Connecticut: Christopher Shays; Florida: Lincoln Diaz-Balart; Illinois: Ray LaHood; New Jersey: Mike Ferguson, Frank LoBiondo, Christopher Smith; New York: Sherwood Boehlert, Peter King, John McHugh, Jack Quinn; Ohio: Bob Ney; Pennsylvania: Phil English, Curt Weldon; Tennessee: Zach Wamp.