Public workers and multi-union coalitions have spent years organizing to restore pensions, improve benefits and protect the retirement security they earned. On Tuesday, November 3, voters will choose many of the governors and legislators who decide the fate of that important work.
From Alaska’s campaign to restore defined benefit pensions to a Louisiana constitutional amendment that could change how pensions are funded, these are the contests and ballot questions to watch.
Alaska has a chance to finish the fight for pension restoration. After 20 years without a defined benefit pension for new public employees and teachers, Alaska workers came close this year. Bipartisan majorities passed House Bill 78, only to have Gov. Mike Dunleavy veto it. Now the election could change who holds the veto pen.
Labor has backed former state Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, the only candidate in the four-way governor’s race fully committed to pension restoration. His opponents are business owner Bernadette Wilson, former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson and former Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor. The Alaska AFL-CIO and unions across the state have rallied behind Kreiss-Tomkins, connecting retirement security to the staffing shortages affecting schools and public services. Polling shows overwhelming support for a defined benefit pension for public employees.
The legislative races are equally consequential. In southwest Alaska, House Speaker Bryce Edgmon and fellow candidate Wassilie Guy support restoring pensions as they compete for an open Senate seat. In Homer, former Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly President Brent Johnson is challenging longtime pension opponent state Rep. Sarah Vance and has committed to restoring pensions. Pension supporters need a governor willing to sign a bill and lawmakers willing to pass it again.
Alaska’s election results may take days or weeks to become clear. For public employees who have waited two decades for a pension, a victory in November could create an opening for restoration in 2027.
Oklahoma’s governor’s race is tightening. The race between former state Sen. Mike Mazzei and House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson has become more competitive. On October 13, Cook Political Report moved Oklahoma from Solid Republican to Likely Republican. An October Cross Timbers poll put Mazzei at 39% and Munson at 36% among likely voters, describing the result as a statistical tie. Mazzei remains favored.
For public workers, Mazzei’s legislative record remains central. He helped raise the normal retirement age for new teachers from 62 to 65, supported moving many new state employees into the 401(k)-style Pathfinder plan, and advanced a funding requirement that created another hurdle for permanent retiree cost-of-living adjustments.
His website now offers different assurances. The campaign FAQ promises regular cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) and protection for police, firefighter and law-enforcement pensions. His revised plan says its proposed county-level move toward 401(k) plans would leave state teacher and public safety retirement systems unchanged. The county proposal remains. Workers should weigh those new assurances against the changes he helped enact.
Meanwhile, educator political funds are backing Munson financially, including funds associated with the Oklahoma Education Association, National Education Association, AFT Oklahoma and retired educators. Munson has also opposed using teachers’ retirement funding as a budget-balancing tool.
Kansas will elect a successor to Gov. Laura Kelly. With Kelly term-limited, the choice between state Sen. Cindy Holscher and Senate President Ty Masterson matters for the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS). As NPPC previously reported, Masterson has a history of pushing 401(k)-style plans for new public employees, while Holscher has earned a strong labor voting record. The next governor and legislature will decide whether to improve KPERS Tier 3 or reopen efforts to shift more retirement risk onto workers.
Ohio raises questions about investments and pension oversight. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy faces former Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton in a race with implications for the management of public retirement assets. Ramaswamy has supported legislation allowing cryptocurrency-linked investments by Ohio’s pension systems while retaining a financial interest in Strive, the company he co-founded. The proposal would authorize certain investments, rather than require them, and pension fiduciary duties would remain.
That distinction still leaves serious questions about investment risk, conflicts of interest and whose interests pension policy serves. The election also comes amid disputes over representation on the State Teachers Retirement System board. Advocates will need to watch the governor’s race, legislative contests and any pension proposals advanced during the lame-duck session.
Wisconsin puts Act 10 back at the center of the debate. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley supports repealing Act 10, while U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany voted for the law and continues to defend it. The law restricted collective bargaining and shifted more pension and healthcare costs onto public employees. Recent reporting on the race makes the stakes clear: the governor’s election and control of both legislative chambers will shape whether workers regain bargaining rights. Any resulting changes in employee contributions would depend on the law enacted and subsequent negotiations.
Michigan workers are still waiting for a retirement fix. The governor’s race between Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and U.S. Rep. John James accompanies a consequential battle for the legislature. Corrections officers and other eligible public safety workers have endured years of delay over legislation providing access to the State Police hybrid pension plan. After the previous bills were withheld and ultimately vetoed over outdated implementation dates, the Senate passed updated versions in September. Tuesday’s results will shape the next stage of that fight, although lawmakers still have an opportunity to act before the current session ends.
Arizona offers a test of the protections already won. Gov. Katie Hobbs faces U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs. Hobbs has vetoed measures exposing public funds to cryptocurrency investments. Legislative control also matters after a court struck down HCR 2040, an anti-union ballot measure.
California workers will have a new governor. Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and former television host Steve Hilton are competing to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom. The transition follows Newsom’s veto of AB 1383, which would have improved retirement benefits for eligible firefighters and law-enforcement officers. Public safety workers will be looking for a path forward with the next administration and legislature.
Louisiana has a pension funding question directly on the ballot. November’s Amendment 5 would remove the requirement that retirement systems apply nonrecurring state funding to their oldest unfunded liabilities first. It would provide flexibility over which liabilities receive those payments. The measure does not change pension benefits or grant a COLA, but it deserves attention because it changes a constitutional rule governing pension debt payments.
Across these states, Tuesday’s results will shape the fight for secure public pensions. Public workers and retirees will keep organizing to turn those results into lasting retirement security.