Lizeth GeorgeThe League of Southeastern Credit Unions (LSCU) Advocacy Team was excited to celebrate a victorious 2024 General Election on Tuesday! Of the general races called, 100% of Federal Political Action Committee (FedPAC), 100% of Florida Credit Union Political Action Committee (Florida CUPAC), and 100% of Georgia Credit Union Political Action Committee (Georgia CUPAC) supported candidates were successful, and LSCU is proud to work with our newly elected officials, as well as credit union friendly incumbents who were re-elected.
During the 2024 cycle, LSCU disbursed a total of $859,785 in political support. $1,750 was spent in Alabama, $419,085 in Florida, $212,950 in Georgia, and $226,000 on candidates for federal office.
Donald Trump will return to the White House as our 47th President, after securing 277 electoral votes and winning battleground states including Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Upon his swearing in next January, we will see a massive shakeup of regulatory and agency appointments, which will likely have trickle-down effects impacting our delegation.
Following several swing state pickups, the U.S. Senate has flipped to Republican control, with Republicans flipping key seats including Ohio (Sherrod Brown, the Senate Banking Chairman), West Virginia (Joe Manchin), and Montana (Jon Tester). Several Senate seats are still on the line with Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania being too close to call. Democrats fell short in Florida and Texas where Rick Scott and Ted Cruz were highly targeted.
In Congress, 218 seats are needed to secure a majority and, with 100 seats still yet to be called, the House is still very much up for grabs. Currently, of the races called, Republicans won 198 seats and Democrats won 180 seats. More than a dozen districts that had a presidential margin of three points in either direction have yet to be called, including a mix of Democratic (NC-01, OH-09, OH-13, PA-07 and PA-08) and Republican-held seats (AZ-01, AZ-06, CA-03, CA-40, CA-41, IA-01, MI-10 and VA-02). Democrats in CO-08, NV-03 and WA-08 are working to hang on in these seats that Biden won in 2020, while Republicans in CA-13, CA-22, CA-27, NY-04, and OR-05 are vying to preserve the Republican Majority in the House.
- After Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District was redrawn following allegations of gerrymandering last year, the district was nationally targeted as one of the most likely to flip seats in the country. In a competitive race, Democrat Shomari Figures defeated Republican Caroleene Dobson and will be the newest member of Alabama’s congressional delegation. Figures, the son of State Senator Vivian Figures, is a former Obama staffer with deep ties to Washington. After being drawn into the same district, Congressman Barry Moore and Jerry Carl dueled it out in this year’s Primary. With Congressman Moore coming out on top, we are saddened to lose a friend in Congressman Carl next Congress but grateful to keep a champion in Moore.
- With Florida Congressman Bill Posey (FL-08) announcing his retirement earlier this year, LSCU, alongside member credit unions, engaged his successor and former State Senate President Mike Haridopolos. With the retirement of Posey, credit unions will lose an advocate on the House Financial Services Committee, though we know Congressman-Elect Haridopolos is interested in building off of Posey’s financial services work. Another closely watched race was the Senate race in which Senator Rick Scott (R) handily defeated former Congressman Debbie Murcasel-Powell (D) after a hotly contested campaign.
- Georgia’s congressional delegation will look mostly the same with the exception of the 3rd With Congressman Drew Ferguson retiring, a highly competitive primary election eventually left Brian Jack as his presumptive replacement in the House. Jack, a former Trump Administration staffer, has deep ties in D.C. and will waste no time adjusting to the legislative landscape.
For more information on federal races, please contact Grace Newcombe Colvin.
With no legislative or state constitutional races on the ballot in Alabama, 2,258,918 were cast. The full breakdown of results can be found on the Alabama Secretary of State’s website. For more information on Alabama’s legislative landscape, please contact Michelle Roth.
The 2024 election saw exceptionally high voter turnout in Florida. As of Wednesday morning, 10,866,996 out of the 14,503,978 registered voters came out to show their preferences in the general election. That’s nearly 75% of registered voters turning out to cast a ballot. The headlining race this year saw Republican U.S. Senator Rick Scott win his second term capturing nearly 56% of the vote. Statewide, Floridians rejected four ballot measures including an effort to legalize recreational marijuana. In the Florida Legislature, the balance of power will not change as Republicans held onto both chambers with relative ease including a second straight victory for Corey Simon (FL SD-03). The full breakdown of results can be found online. For more information on Florida’s legislative or state races, please contact Christopher Hodge.
Georgia once again found itself in the center of the political universe for the 2024 election and has certainly cemented its position as a swing state. Georgia voters broke several records, with over four million Georgians casting ballots either by voting early or absentee by mail. Stated by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, “This was the most successful Early Voting period in Georgia history because voters trust the process.”
Additionally, on the ballot on November 5, were all 180 seats in the Georgia House of Representatives and all 56 seats in the Georgia Senate. The Senate Republicans maintained their majority and will welcome Senators-elect Kenya Wicks (SD-34), RaShaun Kemp (SD-38), and Randal Mangham (SD-55). The House of Representatives largely saw victory for incumbents in both parties, with Republicans maintaining the majority, and will welcome 17 new Representatives to the chamber for the 2025-2026 legislative session. The full breakdown of results can be found online. For more information on Georgia’s legislative or state races, please contact Sydney Seral.
Thank you for all of your election engagement over the last several months! As we continue educating members and building relationships, we encourage you to join us at next year’s state advocacy conferences and America’s Credit Unions Governmental Affairs Conference!
