Election Report: Parental Rights Edition
Yesterday, America went to the polls to decide who will be President and Vice President, who will serve in the 435 seats of the U.S. House of Representatives, and who will fill roughly one-third of the U.S. Senate (called “Class I”).
While many weigh winning or losing by how well one major party did versus the other, the realm of parental rights and family defense creates some unexpected alliances, leading us to count our victories across party lines.
Here, then, is a bipartisan run-down of how our champions and contacts in the House and Senate fared in this year’s elections.
The Parental Rights Amendment
The Parental Rights Amendment, House Joint Resolution 38, was led in the House this session by Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) and had eight cosponsors. Here is how each one fared this election cycle:
Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ): Did not run; will not be returning.
Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN): A former lead sponsor of the Parental Rights Amendment, Banks handily won a seat in the U.S. Senate, by a currently estimated 58% to 39%. While we gain a friend in the Senate, he will not be returning to the U.S. House.
Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA): Rep. Cline won reelection by an estimated 64% to 35% margin.
Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC): Did not run; will not be returning.
Rep. Doug Lambourn (R-CO): Did not run; will not be returning.
Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL): Rep. Miller ran unopposed. She will be returning in January.
Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL): Did not run; will not be returning. But see Haridoplos, below.
Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL): Rep. Steube handily won reelection by a currently estimated 63% to 36%.
Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX): Rep. Van Duyne won reelection by a currently estimated 60.5% to 39.5%.
Mike Haridopolos (R-FL): Haridopolos, from Rep. Bill Posey’s district, was newly elected to the House by a margin of 62% to 38%. He has pledged to continue his predecessor’s support for the Parental Rights Amendment.
Summary: While only four of the nine cosponsors of H.J.Res. 38 are returning to the House, another one’s successor has committed to continue his predecessor’s support. Another of the nine is joining the U.S. Senate.
Other House Bills
Two other members of the U.S. House have worked with our coalition toward important child welfare reform. Here’s how they fared:
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI): Rep. Moore introduced the Twenty-first Century Act, which would have reformed federal child welfare law to keep more families together and respect parental rights. She won reelection by an estimated 75% to 23% margin.
Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA): Rep. Scanlon is leading a forthcoming bill to reform the Adoption and Safe Families Act to help keep families together. Rep. Scanlon won reelection by an estimated 65% to 35%.
The Senate
Senate Bill 5214 calls on the states to collect and report data on what our coalition calls “Hidden Foster Care,” a practice that separates children from their families without any due process or court oversight. The leaders on this data bill, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), are both in “Class II,” meaning they are not up for reelection until 2026. Both will be returning to the Senate this January.
In Conclusion
Yesterday’s elections will have far-reaching effects in every area of our lives. Changes in leadership, not just in the Administration, but also in Congress, can greatly affect how (or how much!) work gets done. The lawmakers listed in this email don’t work in a vacuum; they will be affected by who runs the House, who runs the Senate, and, to some degree, who is in the White House.
But the fact that many of these lawmakers will still be in their seats come January means we can continue the important work of child welfare reform and parental rights protection that we have invested so much in already.
Working together in Washington—even across the aisle—we can keep more children with their loving parents where they belong.