Our Advisory Council and Nationwide Banker Board have looked at the closest races in the nation to determine who are the best friends of traditional banking that need the most help. We will narrow this list further in the weeks ahead to come up with our final endorsements like last cycle, but in the meantime, if you can help them, here are (in alphabetical order):
Top Ten Races for Community Bankers 2020
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
Representing Maine in the Senate since 1997, Sen. Collins has been helpful to our industry as a "yea" vote on the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act; on the Agriculture Act of 2018; and the Indirect Auto Lending and Compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Her opponent is Democrat Sara Gideon, Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. The Cook Report has it a "Toss Up" and rates the state D+3. Maine and Colorado are the only two states that voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 where a Republican senator is defending their seat. Learn more or contribute to her race here: 
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT)
Representing Montana in the Senate since 2015, Sen. Daines has been helpful to our industry as a "yea" vote on the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act; on the Agriculture Act of 2018; and the Indirect Auto Lending and Compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. His opponent is popular Gov. Steve Bullock (D). The Cook Report just moved the race to "Toss Up". Learn more or contribute to his race here: 
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA)
Representing Iowa in the Senate since 2015, Sen. Ernst has been helpful to our industry as a "yea" vote on the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act; on the Agriculture Act of 2018; and the Indirect Auto Lending and Compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Her opponent is Democrat Theresa Greenfield, a farmer and former Congressional candidate. The Cook Report judges the race as "Lean R". Ernst was one of FOTB's two endorsed candidates in 2014Learn more or contribute to her race here: https://joniernst.com/ 
Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA25)
Navy pilot and businessman Mike Garcia was elected to fill a vacancy (left by Democratic Congresswoman Katie Hill) in a special election in May 2020 over California Assemblywoman Christy Smith 56% to 44%. Smith is making November a rematch and the Cook Report ranks this a "Toss Up" in a district that evenly swings to either party. Learn more or contribute to his race here:
Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO)
Representing Colorado in the Senate since 2015, Sen. Gardner has been helpful to our industry as a cosponsor of the SAFE Banking Act and a "yea" vote on the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act; on the Agriculture Act of 2018; and the Indirect Auto Lending and Compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. His opponent is former governor John Hickenlooper. The Cook Report judges the race as "Toss Up." Maine and Colorado are the only two states that voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 where a Republican senator is defending their seat. Gardner was one of FOTB's two endorsed candidates in 2014Learn more or contribute to his race here: 
Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ3)
A member of the House Small Business Committee, Rep. Kim has been helpful to our industry as a cosponsor of the SECURE Notarization Act and as a "yea" vote on the Corporate Transparency Act of 2019, the CARES Act, the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, the SAFE Banking Act, and the COUNTER Act of 2019. A freshman that won 50-49, his 2020 opponent is David Richter. New Jersey's 3rd District is one of 30 House Districts represented by a Democrat in 2020 that voted for Donald Trump in 2016. The Cook Report has it a "Toss Up" and rates the district R+2. Learn more or contribute to his race here: https://andykimforcongress.com/ 
Rep. Ben McAdams (D-UT4)
A member of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. McAdams has been helpful to our industry as a cosponsor of the CECL Consumer Impact and Study Bill of 2019 as a "yea" vote on the Corporate Transparency Act of 2019, the CARES Act, the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, SAFE Banking Act, and the COUNTER Act of 2019. Utah's 4th District is one of 30 House Districts represented by a Democrat in 2020 that voted for Donald Trump in 2016. His opponent is former Super Bowl champion Burgess Owens. The Cook Report has it a "Lean D" and but rates the district R+13. Learn more or contribute to his race here:  https://www.benmcadams.com/ 
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
As Senate Majority Leader, McConnell has an outsized influence on setting the agenda and has been solid in advancing pro-banking legislation. Regulatory reform would not have happened without his leadership. Although the Cook Report rates his race a "Likely R," his opponent Amy McGrath is attracting national fundraising attention and was in a statistical tie in the last poll. Learn more or contribute to his race here:  https://www.teammitch.com/ 
Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ)
Representing Arizona in the Senate since being appointed by the governor in 2018, Sen. McSally has been helpful to our industry as a supportive member of the Senate Banking Committee. She will presumably get passed her Republican challenger, Daniel McCarthy in the August 5 primary and will likely face popular astronaut Mark Kelly in November. The Cook Report has it a "Toss Up" and rates the state R+5. Learn more or contribute to her race here: http://www.mcsallyforsenate.com/ 
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC)
Representing North Carolina in the Senate since 2015, Sen. Tillis has been helpful to our industry as a member of the Senate Banking Committee, a cosponsor of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act; a cosponsor of the SECURE Notarization Act; and a "yea" vote on  cosponsor of the SAFE Banking Act and a "yea" vote on the Agriculture Act of 2018; and the Indirect Auto Lending and Compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. His opponent is former state senator Cal Cunningham. The Cook Report judges the race as "Toss Up" and pegs North Carolina at R+3. Learn more or contribute to his race here:  https://www.thomtillis.com/ 
Info for bankers from FOTB's Platinum Partner: BankOnIT

Because of the effect of the pandemic, banks can expect examiners this fall to show some leniency in various areas and take a hard line in others. But bankers should note there is no such leniency directed in Operational Risk, which regulators tag as heightened because of the pandemic.

See what those risks are here:

Banking News & Resources

"The Bank Drive-Through Makes a Covid Comeback," Wall Street Journal, 

"Eliminating field of membership a 'brazen money grab' for credit unions," Credit Union Journalhttps://bit.ly/3htSJok 

"Banks provide 4.8M loans worth $520B to small businesses, supporting 51M jobs," SBA Report, https://bit.ly/3eWWpx0  

"4 entrepreneurs who leaned on community banks," Independent Bankerhttps://bit.ly/3hwLcFf 






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PAID for by Friends of Traditional Banking. NOT authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
 
Friends of Traditional Banking is a non-partisan grassroots effort organized by bankers in 2012 to improve the political and regulatory environment for the traditional banking industry in the U.S. FOTB is the inverse of a PAC--instead of spreading a little bit of money to a lot of campaigns, they focus a lot of money on a couple of key campaigns.

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