WASHINGTON–The congressional redistricting fights playing out in Texas, New York and California, and which could spread to other states as the political parties angle for power in Washington, has the attention of America’s Credit Unions.
Carrie Hunt, chief advocacy officer with the trade group, said the status of races in every district is something it watches “every day,” along with the state-level credit union organizations.
“One of the main areas that we work on is encouraging and fostering credit union champions,” said Hunt. “Being engaged in the political process is, of course, our main goal, our main reason for being.”
America’s Credit Unions PAC, which is overseen by Trey Hawkins, is among the largest in Washington, is always monitoring races, Hunt said, even with the mid-terms more than a year away.
Potential for ‘Huge Impact’
“We make decisions based on discussions with our league partners,” Hunt said during a call with the media. “Certainly, redistricting has the potential to have a huge impact on what we end up with in Congress…and whether or not we have a sweep of one party or the other. That is something that has a direct impact on what we can achieve in Congress.”
Hunt said America’s Credit Unions will not be taking a position on the legality of what is taking place in some states around redistricting.
Added Greg Mesack, SVP-government affairs with America’s Credit Unions, “We allocate those resources to credit union champions, not Republicans not Democrats. It’s credit union champions,” said Mesack. “You have to be prepared if the lines do change. We’re going to let the democratic process play out… Once (redistricting) is all done, then we have to sit back and try to figure out who the credit union champions are.”
A Complicating Factor
One complicating factor that could emerge from redistricting, noted Hunt, is that two incumbents could find their districts merged leaving them to run against each other. That could mean a scenario in which both have been CU supporters in the past, leaving credit unions with a hard decision.
