The NASW Political Action for Candidate Election board of trustees has been reviewing and endorsing federal candidates for the Nov. 4 midterm elections.

All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and 34 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate will be contested. As a political action committee, PACE endorses and can choose to financially contribute to candidates from any party who support NASW’s policy agenda.

At press time, the board planned to finalize its list of more than 160 endorsements in the most highly contested races.

Brian Dautch, senior political action associate at NASW, researches and reviews potential candidates for the PACE board to consider.

“If the candidate is an incumbent, we check on how they voted on issues important to NASW,” he said, adding that candidates and challengers will be personally interviewed about their positions on the issues as well as the viability of their campaigns.

He said NASW-PACE supports legislators at the local, state and national levels through endorsements and contributions.

“We gauge which policymakers are most helpful to social work through their voting records and positions on important issues,” he said of why it is important for NASW to support a political-action arm. “We then work alongside those legislators to achieve policy goals that are beneficial to social workers and their clients. Member contributions to PACE can help increase the effectiveness and scope of our outreach at all levels of government.”

Endorsed candidates in states that are particularly important in the midterm elections include Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire and North Carolina, Dautch said.

Notices of the latest PACE endorsements have been sent directly to the email addresses of members whose candidates represent their districts or states.