Endorsements 2026

The Maryland State and DC AFL-CIO represents over 700 affiliated local unions in 51 national and international unions and an additional 23 labor union and labor sector councils. The public supports unions and our members trust us to deliver the truth. 68% of U.S. adults approve of labor unions. This is the fifth consecutive year that approval of organized labor has been in the 67% to 71% range. 

We use strict criteria to endorse and help elect candidates for the State Legislature, the Attorney General, the Comptroller, the Governor, the U.S. House, and the U.S. Senate. The State COPE Committee also endorses ballot issues. 

To be considered for endorsement, candidates must complete our questionnaire. Factors that we consider in our endorsements are your voting record, which is posted on our website, whether you have introduced or testified on behalf of key labor legislation, whether you have made remarks supportive of unions and working people during floor debates, and whether you have participated in pro-union and working family activities, such as walking picket lines or writing letters of support. 

The Maryland State and DC AFL-CIO supports endorsed candidates and ballot issues by educating union members and their families through targeted communications highlighting how you will help working people share in a prosperous economy, allow all workers the freedom to form or join a union, and enhance fairness and respect for all workers. 

We produce campaign literature, fact sheets, webpages, and other research-based material to let members know our endorsed candidates and the issues at hand. Our thousands of union activists and their family members are part of our Labor-to-Labor 2026 campaign. We will contact our members and their families, nearly 500,000 people, through texting, canvassing, mail, email, social media, and one-on-one conversations at the job sites. 

Our endorsements are as follows: