Senate
Senate Democrats picked up five seats bringing their majority to 56 (including two independents). Races still have not been called in Alaska, Minnesota and Oregon. Republicans retained open seats in Idaho and Nebraska, but lost open seats in Colorado, New Mexico and Virginia. No Democrat seats turned over.
House
Democrats widened their majority to 254-174, a net gain of 19 seats with seven races still undecided. There are at least 52 new members of Congress with the current breakdown being 29 Democrats and 20 Republicans.
A detailed list of all the changes in the House and Senate is attached.
What We Need To Do
It is extremely important that the industry reach out to the new Members of Congress soon. A majority of the newly-elected members will arrive in Washington with limited knowledge of our industry, and it is our responsibility to educate them on the environmental benefits of the forest products industry and the legislative issues that impact our everyday business. We have a great opportunity to get in at the beginning and build strong relationships with these 52 new Members.
Sixty-five percent of everyone who cast a vote last night said they were concerned about the economy and jobs. We need to get in at the beginning and tell our story to President-elect Obama, his Administration and the 111th Congress. It remains our duty to advocate on the important issues facing our industry, the employees and their jobs. Let’s all do our part.
Please visit www.growthevote.org to retain one pagers and informational material on important legislative issues to help guide your discussions with the incoming Congressional members,
If you have any questions regarding the election results, please contact Anita Peduzzi at anita_peduzzi@afandpa.org or (202) 463-2755
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