WASHINGTON — The fashion industry is keeping a close eye on two dozen tight Congressional races in an election year that has Democrats threatening to tip the balance of power in the House and Senate.
Contests in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Washington and Connecticut have the attention of retailers and apparel manufacturers, while a few key races in the Carolinas and Georgia are being closely watched by the textile industry.
Ohio — home to industry heavyweights Federated Department Stores, Limited Brands Inc. and Procter & Gamble — is a key area of focus for executives and corporate and industry association political action committees. Retailers and apparel firms have concentrated their political contributions in Ohio this two-year election cycle as pro-business, pro-trade Republican incumbents find themselves in tight contests. The impact of the Bush administration’s trade policies on U.S. manufacturing jobs, which have been in a long-term decline, and a lawmaker’s vote on trade deals are significant factors in races around the country.
Rep. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) has mounted a formidable challenge on an antitrade platform against Sen. Mike DeWine, the Republican incumbent. Brown, stressing Ohio has lost 195,000 manufacturing jobs since 2001, has run TV campaign ads condemning DeWine’s “yes” votes on the Central American Free Trade Agreement, the North American Free Trade Agreement and granting China permanent normal trade relations status.
J.C. Penney Co., Sears Holdings Corp., Target Corp., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Limited Brands, Gap Inc. and P&G, all proponents of free trade, have combined to give $34,000 to DeWine in the 2005-2006 election cycle, according to Federal Election Commission records.
The fashion industry is also contributing heavily to Rep. Deborah Pryce’s campaign in Ohio. Pryce, first elected to the House in 1992, is part of the GOP leadership there, and is in a neck-and-neck race with Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy, a Franklin County commissioner.
Underscoring the importance of the Ohio races, Leslie H. Wexner, chairman and chief executive officer of Limited Brands, and his wife, Abigail, hosted a fund-raising event for Pryce and Ohio Victory 2006 (a state party get-out-the vote effort) at their home in New Albany at the end of September, an event that was attended by President Bush, according to George Rasley, director of communications for Pryce’s reelection campaign. The event netted $650,000 for Pryce’s reelection campaign, he said.
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“Retail and warehousing are important sectors of the Ohio economy and Congresswoman Pryce has been very supportive of federal policies, which would advance employment in this industry and encourage location in Central Ohio,” Rasley said, noting the Wexners have been longtime Pryce supporters.
Rasley said Pryce is an advocate of the retail industry and pointed to securing $120 million in funding in fiscal year 2006 for improvements to the Rickenbacker International Airport, a multimodal cargo airport, charter passenger terminal, U.S. Foreign Trade Zone and industrial park, warehousing and distribution hub near Columbus.
“Brown clearly has a difference of opinion with the majority of retailers on trade issues,” said Paul Kelly, senior vice president, federal and state government affairs at the Retail Industry Leaders Association, which counts Wal-Mart among its members. “He would be one more vote in the Senate for things we don’t like: protectionist provisions and stricter mandates on businesses relating to employee benefits.”
As for Pryce potentially losing her seat, Stephen Lamar, senior vice president of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, said, “You would lose an important pro-business, pro-trade…voice and a leader who is trying to implement a strong agenda.”
In the Southeast, textile executives and trade groups are closely watching two competitive races where voting records on trade agreements are a factor.
In one, Rep. Robin Hayes, the Republican incumbent and scion of the Cannon textile family, is in a tough campaign against Democratic challenger Larry Kissell, a former textile employee, who blames the loss of jobs in North Carolina’s textile industry on a shift to foreign production.
Kissell, now a teacher, has attacked Hayes for changing his vote last year from “no” to “yes” in favor of CAFTA, which squeaked through the House by two votes, after Speaker Dennis Hastert pressured him.
“Certainly, jobs and economic development are a top issue in the 8th Congressional district and Robin has said all along the reason he voted for CAFTA was because the administration gave him the assurance they would try to curb textile imports from China,” said Carolyn Hern, communications director for Hayes. “The U.S.-China textile agreement covering 34 categories was a win for the industry.”
She also noted that several textile companies, including International Textile Group, which has two plants in Hayes’ district, were in favor of CAFTA. Hern said Hayes is addressing the job losses in North Carolina and his district with voters by emphasizing the importance of economic development projects, which he has been instrumental in bringing to his district, and retraining for displaced workers.
“Hayes is a leader on textile issues,” said Cass Johnson, president of the National Council of Textile Organizations. “He knows how to pull the levers and make things happen on textiles like no one else I’ve ever seen, and he’s a real asset to the industry because of his knowledge of Capitol Hill and his ties to the administration.”