Labor Day campaigns took center stage nationwide as candidates fanned out to union halls, parades and festivals with just weeks to go before the Nov. 3 midterm election, when control of both chambers of Congress is on the line.
In Portland, Maine, Democrat Troy Jackson, a former logger and longtime labor organizer who recently became his party’s U.S. Senate nominee at a special convention in July, urged union members to vote this fall. Jackson told several hundred attendees at a Southern Maine Labor Council gathering that he would fight to raise the minimum wage, expand family medical leave and support working families if elected.
Jackson is challenging Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a closely watched race that Democrats consider central to their path to a Senate majority. With limited time to introduce himself to voters, Jackson used the Labor Day campaigns swing to rally support among organized labor.
Outside the Portland event, Doug Born, a 64-year-old union stagehand from Westbrook, said Jackson’s working-class background and support for organized labor resonated with him. “We need more union members in seats of power,” Born said.
Collins did not hold public events on Labor Day. A spokesperson said she visited Bath Iron Works early Sept. 1 to greet employees and highlighted her efforts to secure funding for destroyer contracts, infrastructure upgrades and wage enhancements.
As the Labor Day campaigns unfolded, the first statewide mail ballots went out in North Carolina on Friday, signaling the start of voting in a cycle already marked by heavy spending and combative messaging that is likely to intensify as more voters tune in.
Republicans are also looking to energize their base. Former President Donald Trump plans to ramp up efforts for GOP candidates, with his party set to convene in Dallas this week for an unusual two-day midterm convention aimed at boosting enthusiasm.
Presidents’ parties often lose congressional seats in midterms, and Trump has said he will campaign across dozens of House and Senate battlegrounds in the 30 days before Election Day.
Labor Day campaigns draw candidates across key states
In Georgia, Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff and the party’s nominee for governor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, visited an AFL-CIO picnic in metro Atlanta. Ossoff, the only Democratic senator up for reelection in a state Trump carried in 2024, praised labor leaders and criticized the president’s handling of inflation and foreign policy, arguing working families are struggling.
Ossoff faces Republican Rep. Mike Collins, a trucking company owner who casts himself as an advocate for working-class voters. Collins’ campaign did not respond to a question about his Labor Day plans.
Bottoms, running against wealthy health care executive Rick Jackson, urged union members to mobilize their networks to counter her opponent’s heavy ad spending. She also noted Georgia’s “right to work” laws and the state’s historically anti-union stance. Jackson had no public events Monday.
In western Wisconsin, Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden and Democrat Rebecca Cooke both joined a small-town parade in one of the nation’s most competitive House districts. Cooke walked the route before the start to meet voters, then participated again during the parade.
Van Orden rode a 2001 Harley-Davidson with two grandchildren along the route and later credited Cooke for campaigning in the Republican-leaning village.
Voters there expressed varied views. Maureen Hilton, a 74-year-old retiree, said she is frustrated with both parties and wants lower food and gas prices. Jerry Ray, 75, said he plans to support Cooke, arguing it is time for change.
In Ohio, authorities said an armed man charged toward Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton at a fair on Sunday, injuring several people before troopers stopped him. A spokesperson for Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy said candidates should be able to meet voters without threats or violence.
With ballots beginning to arrive and the calendar closing in, both parties are leaning on visibility and retail politics over the Labor Day campaigns period to lock in support ahead of Election Day.
That push comes as the broader midterms campaign season kicks off, with both parties testing messages and turnout strategies ahead of November.
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