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Not a single one of the 15 House Democrats endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce during the 2020 election voted against the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act (H.R. 842), despite the Chamber publicly opposing the legislation. 

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the PRO Act on Tuesday with a 225-206 vote, with only one Democrat joining Republicans in opposition.  Of the 23 House Democrats endorsed by the U.S. Chamber during the 2020 election cycle, 15 won re-election. All 15 of these Democrats voted to pass the PRO Act during yesterday’s vote. 

Prior to yesterday’s vote, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – the world’s largest pro-business trade association – issued a press release opposing the PRO Act, calling it a “wish list of union-sponsored priorities” that “would threaten worker privacy, force employees to pay union dues or lose their jobs, and trample free speech rights.” 

In the same statement, the Chamber vowed it would fight to ensure the PRO Act “never becomes law.”

However, last Congress the Chamber made clear that support for the PRO Act would not prevent the trade association from endorsing lawmakers for re-election. 

In fact, 14 of the 23 Democrats endorsed by the Chamber during the 2020 election cycle co-sponsored the PRO Act last Congress. The Chamber endorsed these Democrats despite sending a letter to Congress in 2019 opposing the PRO-Act, noting that co-sponsoring the legislation would impact the Chamber’s “How They Voted” rating for lawmakers. The PRO Act was one of only nine pieces of legislation the Chamber encouraged House lawmakers to refrain from co-sponsoring during the 116th Congress.

The U.S. Chamber’s endorsement of 23 House Democrats was a notable increase compared to prior years. During the 2018 cycle, the Chamber reportedly endorsed only 7 House Democrats. According to the U.S. Chamber’s own assessment of its impact on the 2020 House elections, the “U.S. Chamber endorsements are known to have a big impact and that rang true in 2020.”

Below are the House Democrats endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce who voted in favor of the PRO Act and the percentage of the vote they received as candidates during the 2020 election.

  1. Rep. Colin Allred (TX-32), won re-election with 51.9% of the vote.

  2. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (TX-7), won re-election with 50.8% of the vote.

  3. Rep. Haley Stevens (MI-11), won re-election with 50.2% of the vote.

  4. Rep. Josh Harder (CA-10), won re-election with 55.2% of the vote.

  5. Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-3), won re-election with 49.7% of the vote.

  6. Rep. Susie Lee (NV-3), won re-election with 48.8% of the vote.

  7. Rep. Angie Craig (MN-2), won re-election with 48.2% of the vote.

  8. Rep. Andy Kim (NJ-03), won re-election with 53.2% of the vote.

  9. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (VA-7), won re-election with 50.9% of the vote.

  10. Rep. Sharice David (KS-03), won re-election with 53.6% of the vote.

  11. Rep. Antonio Delgado (NY-19), won re-election with 54.2% of the vote.

  12. Rep. Elaine Luria (VA-2), won re-election with 51.5% of the vote.

  13. Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-3), won re-election with 55.6% of the vote.

  14. Rep. Greg Stanton (AZ-9), won re-election with 61.6% of the vote.

  15. Rep. David Trone (MD-6), won re-election with 58.9% of the vote.