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Labor finally wins the big races
The AFL-CIO sees Sherrod Brown's election as proof that its tactics and message are working.
Monday, November 13, 2006
WASHINGTON — Organized labor is positively giddy about the results of Tuesday's elections and points to efforts in Ohio as a prime example of the effectiveness of its get-out-the-vote efforts and financial contributions, which helped elect Democratic U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown as U.S. senator.
For the AFL-CIO, Brown's election is a double victory: Not only did it endorse Brown, but it says Brown's populist appeal to the middle class is evidence that its own messages of increasing minimum wage, renegotiating trade deals and working for better health care are resonating among voters.
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The labor group used "microtargeting" — looking at demographic and other information to better target those more likely to vote on Election Day. And it focused get-out-the-vote efforts on "drop-off" voters — people who generally vote in presidential years but not midterm elections — including 496,000 in Ohio.
The AFL-CIO nationally credits Working America, the union's community affiliate, with helping increase the vote for Brown among affiliate members from 53 percent to 72 percent in the fall, largely through its grass-roots effort.
Ohio unions didn't see complete triumph. They also invested heavily in trying to defeat Reps. Steve Chabot, R-Cincinnati, and Deborah Pryce, R-Upper Arlington, but both won. Still, the unions count the elections of Ted Strickland as governor and Brown as major triumphs.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, labor groups spent $313,300 on Brown's candidacy as of Oct. 11, compared to $40,500 for DeWine.
By the numbers
28 percent of voters in the Senate race were either union members or belonged to a union household.
OF THEM
68 percent voted for Brown
32 percent for DeWine
Among union members
77 percent backed Brown
23 percent backed DeWine
NATIONALLY
73 percent of union members voting in a Senate race voted Democratic
27 percent voted Republican
Sources: National Election Pool exit polling of about 2,500 voters with a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, conducted by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International. Post-election survey by Peter D. Hart Research Associates.
