The NASW Political Action for Candidate Election (PACE) board of trustees has made 165 federal endorsements for the Nov. 5 general election.
Thirty-four of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate are up for regular election. All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are up for election.
According to NASW-PACE, the goal of any endorsement is to elect candidates who support NASW policy positions and increase visibility for NASW in the process. NASW also gains candidates’ recognition, improves connections with elected officials, advances NASW’s policy agenda, and builds respect for the association as a powerful and committed activist organization.
NASW’s policy positions are based on issues found in “Social Work Speaks,” NASW’s book of policy statements. NASW members vote every three years on those policy statements at Delegate Assembly.
NASW chapters also have PACE committees that have the authority to endorse or make financial contributions to candidates at the state and local levels.
“An endorsement by NASW-PACE shows that a candidate shares many of the same values as NASW and the social work profession,” said Dina Kastner, manager of Public Policy and Advocacy at NASW. “Endorsements allow NASW-PACE to promote candidates that are or will become champions for social work.”
NASW-PACE is focusing efforts on five battleground states where the stakes are high: Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, noted Kastner. NASW has hired PACE field organizers in each of those states.
Kastner explained that the Senate races in these key states are close: Elissa Slotkin (Mich.); Jacky Rosen (Nev.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Bob Casey (Pa.), and Tammy Baldwin (Wis.). Two social workers are running for re-election: Hillary Scholten (Mich.-03) and Sylvia Garcia (Texas-29).
“We are watching their races closely,” Kastner said. “Caitlin Draper is a social worker. She is a challenger running in Arkansas’ 3rd Congressional District.”
Kastner said this election is critical for the social work profession. “The values that social workers hold dear will be impacted based on the outcomes,” she said. “NASW will work with elected officials of any party to promote social work and the clients that social workers serve.”
Learn more about NASW-PACE, and see the full list of 2024 NASW-PACE federal endorsements.