National Cattlemen August 2026 | Page 6

From the CEO

Colin Woodall

Just a few months ago, President Trump commented that he really didn’ t care about the midterms. I’ m here to tell you that I do, and I hope you do, too. I care because the outcome of the 2026 General Election will impact everything we work on for the next two years, and beyond. Truth be told, the president is still watching these races very carefully.

This midterm election cycle has been wild. As I am writing this, we’ ve just learned South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham passed away. In the U. S. Senate, nine Republicans are retiring, running for other office, lost their primary, or have died. Four Democrats are retiring. That is 13 % of the Senate. In the House of Representatives, 33 Democrats have either retired, are running for other office, lost their primary, or died. On the other side of the aisle, 40 Republicans have met similar fates. That is almost 17 % of the total House membership. This is particularly high turnover for Congress.

Republicans running for reelection have had to navigate many obstacles, including the threat of President Trump getting in the middle of their race. Rep. Thomas Massie from Kentucky, Sen. Bill Cassidy from Louisiana, and Sen. John Cornyn from Texas all met a primary demise, and President Trump’ s endorsement of their ousters made a difference. For Democrats, the rise of Democratic Socialist candidates running, and winning, their primary races could open more Congressional districts up for similar candidates. All of this has been further complicated by a mid-decade redistricting push that may, or may not, influence November’ s outcome.

The primaries aren’ t over yet. Many of you live in states with August and September primaries, so the final stage for the November General Election has not been completely set. Here in Colorado, the primary to select the Democrat candidate for governor resulted in current Sen. Michael Bennet losing a race many thought he had in the bag. The reason I call this race out is because his loss means he will remain a U. S. senator and has the seniority to become the next Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Had he won and gone forward with his gubernatorial campaign, it would have set up Sen. Cory Booker from New Jersey with the seniority to take that committee slot. While we find ways to work with Members of Congress from all sides, having a vegan Senate Ag Committee Chairman would have been challenging.

Working with all sides is key to NCBA’ s success in D. C. Our

focus now is capitalizing on the current political environment. Both Congress and the president are working on issues important to us, and we are trying to help them find ways to be successful. We would still like to see a Farm Bill finished so that all of us in agriculture will know what the USDA program landscape looks like. Right now, they are home for the annual August recess. Once they return after Labor Day, it will take everything they have in the tank to pass some sort of federal funding bill before the end of the fiscal year. After that is done, they will high-tail it back home for the final stretch of the campaign. The“ lame duck” session will be the next best time for any legislative action.

While capitalizing on the current political environment is important, we also take a strategic look at where the political environment will be after Election Day. Reading the political tea leaves is not as easy as it once was, but we need to be prepared for a Democrat-led House of Representatives.

If that happens, the next two years will be a series of oversight and impeachment hearings. We will work with our friends in the House to influence some of those oversight hearings in a way that could help us. You’ ve heard me say this before, but any organization that only works with one party will ultimately fail in their policy advocacy work. We have a long list of House members from both parties who support us and work with us. We also have a list of House members from both parties who are as irritating as birdshot in the rump.

Regardless of the Congressional leadership, the president still has more than two years left to roll back burdensome rules and regulations, and we will be helping him and his team get as many done as possible. His team has delivered several huge wins for us, but we have many more that need to get done before they leave 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The American electorate is in the driver’ s seat when it comes to what will happen on Tuesday, Nov. 3, but we aren’ t without a way to help influence the outcome. NCBA’ s Political Action Committee, or PAC, is an effective way to help get pro-cattle business candidates elected to Congress. NCBA-PAC has a long track record of supporting winning candidates, and we are pushing to raise $ 2 million to support as many candidates as we can. Your support of our PAC is critical, but at the very least, I’ m asking you to show up and vote. It is always important to exercise our right to vote, but especially during our semiquincentennial year.

6 AUGUST 2026 www. NCBA. org