8 midterm races for federal employees to watch

The Trump administration’s efforts to downsize and remake the federal workforce could be curtailed if Democrats win back a majority in the House and/or Senate during the midterm congressional elections on Nov. 3. 

Here are eight competitive congressional races for federal employees to watch, many of which feature lawmakers who are involved with the annual agency funding process or veterans’ issues. 

1. Maine Senate 

Susan Collins — the chair of the Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for allocating funding among most federal agencies — is up for re-election in a close race. A Republican, she frequently breaks with the president, including over funding for inspectors general and impoundments, which is when the executive branch delays or withholds congressionally approved spending.  

Her Democratic opponent is Troy Jackson, the former Senate president of Maine. While in the state legislature, he sponsored legislation to provide no-interest loans to federal employees in Maine during a government shutdown. The state enacted an identical bill last year after Jackson had left the Maine Senate. 

Cook Political Report rates the race as a toss up. 

2. Iowa’s 1st Congressional District 

Mariannette Miller-Meeks is the top Republican on the House Veterans’ Affairs subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Veterans Health Administration, which cares for more than 9.1 million veterans. She also has sponsored legislation, which is named after an Iowa corrections officer who died by suicide, that would promote mental health screenings and referrals for Bureau of Prisons employees. 

Democrat Christina Bohannan, a law professor, is challenging Miller-Meeks for the third time. She is endorsed by the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union.  

Cook Political Report rates the race as lean Democrat. 

3. Ohio’s 9th Congressional District 

Democrat Marcy Kaptur is a senior appropriator on the subcommittee that oversees the Army Corps of Engineers and Energy Department. In response to the Trump administration’s impoundment of agency funding, she introduced legislation that would require senior federal employees to take annual training on the budget process. 

Her opponent is Derek Merrin, a former GOP Ohio state representative. While in the state legislature, he supported a public employee right-to-work bill. 

Cook Political Report rates the race as a toss up. 

4. Texas’ 28th Congressional District 

Henry Cuellar is the top Democrat on the House Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Homeland Security Department, to which congressional Republicans have provided billions in additional funding for immigration enforcement. 

He is a moderate Democrat. In 2024, Cuellar and his wife were charged with bribery, conspiracy and money laundering. Trump, however, later pardoned them.  

Tano Tijerina, a county judge, is the GOP nominee for the seat. On his campaign website, he says that he wants to make Washington, D.C., more like Texas, which means “less bureaucracy, more action.” 

Cook Political Report rates the race as lean Democrat. 

5. Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District 

Republican Jen Kiggans is the chairwoman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Her coastal district is home to tens of thousands of military personnel and federal employees. Last year, she introduced legislation to ensure that members of the armed services, Defense Department civilians and contractors and U.S. Coast Guard staffers would receive pay on a normal schedule despite the fall government shutdown. 

Kiggans is in a rematch race against former Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria, who is known for serving on the House panel that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. 

Cook Political Report rates the race as a toss up. 

6. Georgia Senate 

Jon Ossoff is the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee panel that oversees military construction and the VA. He has criticized the administration’s proposed fiscal 2027 VA budget for directing funding increases toward private sector care. 

Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., is challenging Ossoff for the position. Media outlets have reported several instances in which Collins’ staffers or family members have shared Nazi or Ku Klux Klan imagery. 

Cook Political Report rates the race as likely Democrat. 

7. Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District 

Republican Derrick Van Orden is the chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs panel that oversees veteran education, employment and housing programs. He’s also backed efforts to block the president’s attempts to remove collective bargaining rights for Defense Department employees. 

His Democratic challenger is Rebecca Cooke, a small business owner and nonprofit leader. 

Cook Political Report rates the race as a toss up. 

8. Texas Senate 

Whoever wins this state’s Senate race will represent more than 130,000 federal employees, one of the largest headcounts in the country. 

Republican Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general, said that he would support cutting federal benefits programs, according to leaked audio from a private fundraiser. Paxton was impeached by the Texas House in 2023 for abuse of power but was acquitted by the state Senate. 

Democrat James Talarico is a state representative endorsed by AFGE for his “100% pro-labor voting record.” 

Cook Political Report rates the race as a toss up.