DETROIT — Working families and working Americans sent a clear message in key primary races Tuesday that 2018 is about the pocketbook, not ideological battles.

Voters in Missouri rejected so-called “Right-to-work” for less; elected key labor candidates in primaries in Michigan, Missouri and Washington, and took an open GOP seat in Ohio to a neck and neck status.

“Voters clearly sent a message in yesterday’s voting that the lessons of the 2016 Presidential election were not about conservatism, they were about working families wanting action on pocketbook issues,” said Gary Jones, President of the UAW. “Voters want less talk and controversy and more action on wage stagnation, lack of job security, health care, and safety on the job and a fair fighting chance for their children’s future.”

Voters:

• Issued a citizen veto and rebuke of Missouri’s Right to Work law
• Elected a labor-backed ticket in Michigan
• Turned around a Congressional District that has only elected a Democrat twice in a hundred years into a race that is too close to call.

“Voters this fall are sending a message that they want less gamesmanship, less rhetoric and more focus on wage growth, benefits and retirement security,” said Jones. “They want the focus to be on the future of their families and not on politics as usual.”