NASW’s political action committee, Political Action for Candidate Election, known as PACE, has endorsed 119 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and three senators who are up for reelection on Nov. 2.
This year, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 36 of the 100 Senate seats are up for grabs. The winners will serve in the 112th Congress.
“In this election cycle, NASW is focused on protecting those incumbents who have stood up most strongly on the issues that are important to social workers and their clients,” said Brian Dautch, an NASW senior political action associate who assists the PACE Trustees with determining which candidates to endorse.
Dautch said PACE welcomes NASW members’ suggestions for endorsements. He also encouraged members who aren’t already to get involved in the 2010 election.
“It’s crucial for our members to be engaged in the political process,” said Dautch. “Social workers are advocates by virtue of what they do — no one understands the needs of people on the ground better than the social workers working directly on vital social justice issues. Communicating those needs to officeholders and office-seekers ensures that no one in society is forgotten and that universal needs are addressed.”
The national PACE Board of Trustees endorses and contributes financially to candidates running for U.S. House and Senate seats, regardless of political party affiliation, who support NASW’s policy agenda; state chapter PACE units weigh in on local and state races.
In addition to incumbents, PACE also helps challengers and candidates for open seats who support social workers and have a good chance at getting elected to Congress.
PACE announced more candidate endorsements on Aug. 27 — days after this story’s deadline. A final round of endorsements will be announced Oct. 1.