How did credit union candidates fare?

A number of former credit union executives and directors have good reason to smile on Wednesday.

Overall, politicians with ties to the credit union industry had a good night during Tuesday's election. Roughly a dozen people with a connection to credit unions won races for the U.S. House and other local contests.

Additionally, the Credit Union Legislative Action Council (CULAC), the federal political action committee of the Credit Union National Association, supported 375 candidates for House and Senate seats this year. CUNA and state credit union leagues invested a record $7 million, supporting candidates friendly to the industry, the trade group said in October.

Here is a look at results for races across the country that touched upon the credit union industry.

Did CUNA's independent expenditures pay off?

CUNA invested more than $1.5 million in independent expenditures to support a variety of credit union candidates, in particular several vulnerable "red state" Democrats. The results were a mixed bag for the trade group.

Montana Senator Jon Tester narrowly beat Republican Matt Rosendale, winning by just over 1 percentage point, or about 5,000 votes, in a race that wasn't called until mid-day Wednesday. CULAC spent $250,000 for direct mail, digital ads on Pandora and radio ads supporting Tester, a Democratic senator in a state President Trump carried by more than 20 points in 2016.

Democrat Joe Donnelly lost his Indiana senate seat to Mike Braun, a Republican who swept almost 53 percent of the vote. The Democratic incumbent previously had been applauded for crafting legislation that provided regulatory relief for local credit unions and banks. CULAC spent $525,000 on digital advertising and direct mail support of Donnelly.

Democrat Tom O'Halleran defeated Republican Wendy Rogers for the U.S. House seat in Arizona's 1st District. With 99 percent of votes reported, O'Halleran had a 6 percentage point lead with more than 53 percent of the votes. CULAC sent out direct mail supporting O’Halleran, costing more than $76,000.

Republican Steve Chabot retained his seat in Ohio's 1st congressional district with about 52 percent of the votes. He defeated Democrat Aftab Pureval and Libertarian Dirk Kubala. Chabot was recognized for his support of CUNA's Telephone Consumer Protection Petition that was filed in the fall of 2017. CULAC spent $200,000 in support of Chabot on television, radio and digital ads.

Republican Pete Sessions was unseated by Democratic opponent, Colin Allred, for Texas's 32nd congressional district seat. Allred earned roughly 52 percent of the votes compared with just 46 percent for Sessions. CULAC spent $200,000 supporting Sessions. That expense included television, radio and digital ads and a website, www.CreditUnionsforSessions.com.

Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith will advance to a special runoff election against Democrat challenger, Mike Epsy. Hyde-Smith, a recognized credit union supporter, was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Thad Cochran, who resigned in March for health reasons.

U.S. House of Representatives races

Democrat Gwen Moore was easily reelected to her U.S. House seat, representing District 4 in Wisconsin. Moore, who helped found a Wisconsin credit union early in her career, won about 75 percent of the vote, defeating Republican Tim Rogers and Robert Raymond, who ran as an Independent.

U.S. Rep. Denny Heck, a Democrat from the 10^th District of Washington, will continue to serve in Congress after winning reelection on Tuesday by beating Republican Joseph Brumbles. Heck previously served as director of marketing for Columbia Community Credit Union in Vancouver, Wash.

U.S. Rep. Ami Bera, a former credit union board member, won reelection for his seat for California’s 7th District. The Democrat defeated Republican Andrew Grant with almost 53 percent of the votes cast.

Pete Aguilar, also a Democratic U.S. Representative from California, won reelection for the 31^st District. Aguilar, a former credit union employee, beat Republican Sean Flynn.

U.S. Rep. Ron Estes, a Republican and a former credit union supervisory committee member, won reelection for the 4^th District in Kansas. He beat Democrat challenger, James Thompson, with 60 percent of the votes cast.

Contests for state and local office

Bob Kressig, who helped defeat a measure earlier this year that would have taxed Iowa credit unions, has retained his seat as a state representative serving the 59^th District. The Democrat and former chairman of John Deere Community Credit Union received roughly 54 percent of the vote, beating Republican Drew Speer and Independent Nick Taiber.

Van Wanggaard, a former cop, retained his Wisconsin State Senate seat. Wanggaard, who is a Republican and former credit union president, received about 58 percent of the vote in his victory over Democrat Lori Hawkins.

Democrat Mona Shand lost to challenger Republican Ann Bollin for Michigan's 42nd State House seat, according to unofficial poll results. Shand was a former public relations executive at the Michigan Credit Union League.

Larry Hoff, who served as the CEO of Fibre Federal Credit Union for about 15 years, cruised to victory to in a first-time race for a House seat in Washington’s state legislature. The Republican defeated his Democratic opponent, Kathy Gillespie, garnering about 52 percent of the vote.

Republican Sam Teasley, a State Representative for Georgia’s 37^th District, appears to have been narrowly defeated by his Democratic opponent, Mary Frances Williams. Williams was ahead by just 145 votes, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s results. Teasley serves on a committee with LGE Community Credit Union.

Democrat Richard Onishi, a State Representative for Hawaii’s 3^rd District, handedly defeated his Republican challenger, Fred Fogel. Onishi, who serves on the board of Hawaii County Employees Federal Credit Union, received almost 70 percent of the votes cast.

In another race in Hawaii, Mel Rapozo lost his bid for mayor of Kauai County on Tuesday night to Derek Kawakami. He is currently the chair of the Kauai County Council but has reached the term limits in that post. Rapozo, a former board member of the Kauai Government Employees Federal Credit Union, garnered just 31 percent of the votes.

Republican Julie Alexander, a board member at American 1 Credit Union, easily won reelection for her Michigan State House seat for the 64th District. She won 58 percent of the vote while Democrat Sheila Troxel drew almost 40 percent of the votes and Libertarian Norman Peterson got just 2 percent. Troxel also has ties to the industry as the director of financial education at CP Federal Credit Union.

There could be a possible recount as Steven McCleerey, a Democrat, looks to retain his South Dakota State House seat for the 1^st District, according to the state’s Secretary of State’s website. McCleerey, the secretary and treasurer for Coteau Valley Federal Credit Union, was behind by 434 votes to his Republican challenger, Tamara St. John.

Lisa Brown, president and CEO of Tallahassee Leon Federal Credit Union, lost her bid for Tallahassee City Commissioner in a narrow race. Her opponent, Jeremy Matlow, received just 334 more votes.

Art Shrader, a Democrat, lost his race for Wisconsin State Assembly for the 50^th District to Republican Tony Kurtz. Shrader is a business loan office for Westby Co-op Credit Union.

Democrat Michael Miller, a former credit union branch manager, won his uncontested bid for New York State Assembly’s 38^th District.

This story was updated at 2:23 P.M. on Nov. 7, 2018.