2026 U.S. House ยท Election Day Nov. 3 ยท Draft as of Oct. 15
Working-Class Voter Guide
Twenty-five House races, including 21 that the Cook Political Report rates as toss-ups, scored on the same five questions: Who has stood with workers on pay and unions, health care, taxes and prices, Social Security and Medicare, and who pays for their campaign? Every score links to its source. You can change how much each question counts.
Change what counts most
Set a question to 0 to leave it out. Scores and the top pick update for every race.
How candidates were scored
Each candidate gets 0, 1 or 2 points on five questions. The score shown is the share of the possible points, out of 10. These questions are one definition of working-class interests: pay and bargaining power, access to health care, who benefits from tax and price policy, retirement security, and independence from corporate money. A different definition would change the results.
| Question | 2 points | 1 point | 0 points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay and unions | Strong labor scorecard or votes, plus union endorsements | Some union support or one pro-worker vote or bill | Votes against labor, or no evidence found |
| Health care | Voted against or pledges to reverse the 2025 Medicaid cuts and backs ACA subsidies | Mixed record, or opposition without a specific plan | Voted for the cuts and against ACA subsidies, or no evidence |
| Taxes and prices | Opposed tax and tariff policy that favors the wealthy, with concrete cost relief | Backed a package with some working-family relief alongside cuts, or general cost-of-living messaging | No relief for working households found, or votes that raise costs |
| Social Security and Medicare | Led or passed a protection | Backed a related measure; no position on Social Security | Hostile statement, or no evidence found |
| Campaign money | Pledge to refuse corporate PAC money, or mostly small donors | Mostly individual money, no pledge | Heavy PAC reliance, or not found |
- Missing evidence counts as 0. That can hurt challengers and lesser-known candidates, who have no voting record. Rows marked "No evidence found" show where this happened.
- Candidates with no real campaign are not scored. They are listed under each race.
- Narrow margins are flagged. When the top two candidates are within 1.5 points, or the leader has no evidence on two or more questions, the guide says so.
- Sources vary. Official records, FEC filings and news reports are used where possible. Some evidence comes from campaign statements, union scorecards or partisan outlets, and the notes say so.