NYSUT Members Drive Major Election Victories Across New York

When Cait Conley won New York’s 17th Congressional District on Tuesday, New York State United Teachers members played a significant role in her victory. Behind her victory stands an army of more than 11,000 volunteer shifts and over half a million voter contacts, all organized by New York State United Teachers members who spent months knocking on doors from Long Island to Buffalo, New York City to the North Country. NYSUT reported that its members didn’t just cast ballots for candidates committed to public education and working families—they made the phone calls, sent the texts, and had the conversations that turned those votes into wins.

The scale of the effort tells its own story. Across the state, NYSUT members logged more than 11,000 volunteer shifts and reached over 500,000 voters, according to the union’s post-election account.

Breaking down New York 2026 election results

Conley’s Hudson Valley Upset Powered by 150,000 Calls

The most significant prize on the board was Conley’s election to Congress in the Hudson Valley-based 17th District, where NYSUT made her campaign a statewide organizing priority after becoming the first union to endorse her in April. Members poured more than 150,000 phone calls into the district, organized seven labor walks alongside the Westchester-Putnam Central Labor Body and Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation, and mobilized over 300 volunteers for an October Labor Day of Action. Dozens of NYSUT locals also ran relational organizing programs to connect directly with union households.

“Voters across New York and across the country sent a message yesterday, and it was loud and clear,” said NYSUT President Melinda Person. “People want change. They want an economy that works for working families, strong public schools and leaders who understand the challenges everyday people face. And NYSUT members didn’t just vote for change. We helped make it happen.”

Person singled out Conley’s qualifications specifically, noting that the newly elected representative represents “exactly the kind of person we need in Congress — someone with integrity, a deep commitment to public education and genuine respect for working people.”

Midterm election results in, winners across New York State

State Senate and Assembly Wins Extend the Wave

The union’s influence stretched well beyond the congressional race. In state Senate contests, NYSUT-endorsed candidates Larry He in Senate District 17 and Lisa Kaul in Senate District 39 both secured victories, with coordinated grassroots efforts from union members and labor partners driving turnout in their districts. Down-ballot, four NYSUT-backed candidates declared victory in State Assembly races: Kim Keiserman, Joey Cohen-Saban, Chris McCreight and Ian Phillips. Across those campaigns, members made thousands of calls, knocked on thousands of doors, and logged thousands of hours of voter outreach.

Several closely contested races remained too close to call as of Tuesday night, with NYSUT members actively involved in those contests as well, suggesting the final tally of union-backed wins could grow in the coming days.

NYSUT Members Drive Major Election Victories Across New York — Photo: yonkerstimes.com

Educators in Government, Not Just Endorsing It

Beyond the candidates NYSUT supported, the union also marked the election and re-election of its own members to public office—an increase in educators and public service workers entering government positions. For a union representing hundreds of thousands of teachers, support staff and higher education professionals across New York, having members in the legislature means direct representation at the table where education budgets and labor laws are written.

“Behind every phone call, every door knock and every volunteer shift is a NYSUT member who believes that working people deserve a voice in their government,” Person said. “These victories didn’t happen by accident. They happened because ordinary people did extraordinary things, together.”

What remains unresolved is how many of those tightly contested races will ultimately break in favor of NYSUT-endorsed candidates. With final results still outstanding in several districts, the full scope of Tuesday’s labor-backed wave won’t be known until every ballot is counted.