Nov. 8 - Nationwide Candidates Win by Fighting for New Trade Policies, Opposing NAFTA Model

Trade Helped Put Democrats Over Top, Emerges as National Electoral Issue with More Than 25 Paid Ads and 115 Races Using Trade as Differentiator, Major Public Citizen Report Shows; Exit Polls Show Voters’ Economic Anxiety a Top Concern

No Fair Trader Loses, 37 “Free” Trade Seats Flip

From Florida to Hawaii and parts in between, pro-fair trade challengers Tuesday beat anti-fair trade incumbents, according to a major report on the 2006 midterm results conducted by Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch division. Incumbents who had voted for the U.S. trade status quo of NAFTA, WTO and Fast Track were replaced by fair traders rejecting these failed policies and advocating improvement in 37 congressional seats (7 Senate and 30 House).

“This election changed the composition of Congress on trade to more closely represent U.S. public opinion. Congress needs a system for negotiating U.S. trade agreements – with a steering wheel and emergency brakes on negotiators – that delivers on the public’s expectations for a new trade policy that wins for American workers and farmers and does not harm the environment or food safety,” said Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch division.

Trade and offshoring were wedge issues actively used in 115 congressional campaigns nationwide with more than 25 paid campaign ads run on trade and offshoring. Election exit polls conducted by CNN and The New York Times revealed that Americans’ anxiety about the economy and job security trumped Iraq war concerns.  

• Read the full press release
• Download the press release (pdf)
• Read the full report
• Download the latest version of the report (pdf)
• View the 2006 "Fair Trade" Impact Charts (pdf)
• View the state-by-state Appendix (pdf)
  
  
• Media Citing our 2006 Election Report
• GTW in The Democratic Strategist on Fair Trade in the Elections (PDF)
• Ongoing trade and elections coverage at Eyes On Trade

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