This election season has been dominated with news surrounding races for critical federal offices. While there are 468 federal congressional seats up for election in 2024, there are close to 6,000 state-level seats up for grabs when you combine all state legislative and executive races. And while the number of state-level seats that are being contested this election season may seem overwhelming, there are certain states and races to focus on. Many of these will have an impact on the equipment manufacturing industry. Here are some races to pay attention to.
Important Governor Races
In Indiana, where the equipment manufacturing industry supports over 138,000 jobs, Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) is currently favored to win his contest over Jennifer McCormick (D). While in North Carolina, current North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein (D) is running against current Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. While at one point this race was closer, the view of experts is that Stein will win easily. In the Tar Heel State, the equipment manufacturing industry contributes $11.3 billion to the state economy.
State Races to Watch
Texas is the largest state for equipment manufacturing in the country. Texas equipment manufacturers support over 345,000 jobs and contribute close to $50 billion to the state’s economy. Texas politics are dominated by the Texas State GOP. Uniquely, during the 2024 primary process, 46 incumbents – more than half of Texas House of Representatives Republicans – faced primary challengers. Nine Texas GOP House members lost to challengers. This was the largest number of incumbent defeats since 2012, when 10 House Republicans lost in the primaries. While no one expects the GOP to lose control of the Texas legislature, the impact of the primaries and the subsequent general election could see a further shift to the right in the Lone Star State capital.
This past February, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) signed into law Senate Bill 488, adopting new Wisconsin legislative maps. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Under the new boundaries, the state Assembly and state Senate will likely see more balance between the two parties. Republicans currently hold 64 out of 99 state Assembly seats under the Republican-drawn maps. Under the new state Assembly map, the districts are more evenly split. The new map has 46 districts that lean Republican and 45 districts that lean Democratic. The eight districts left are likely to be a toss-up between Democratic and Republican candidates." The new district boundaries, enacted by Senate Bill 488, will have the same balancing in the Wisconsin State Senate too. If the Democrats can take one or both houses this November, the political landscape in Wisconsin is in for a major change. Wisconsin supports over 180,000 equipment manufacturing industry jobs and contributes more than $21 billion to the state’s economy.
As election day draws near, the AEM Advocacy Team is paying attention to all the impactful races to the equipment manufacturing industry.
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