Backers of guaranteed income programs say the midterm results are a sign of growing support. Several allies won state and federal offices, and voters approved a number of ballot measures involving direct cash payments.
Five former members of the Mayors for a Guaranteed Income coalition, as well as officials from partner groups, were elected to higher office.
The biggest win came in Georgia, where former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a founding member of the coalition, was elected governor. She will be the first Black woman to lead the state.
“Support for guaranteed income has been steadily growing since we launched the first pilot in 2019,” said Michael D. Tubbs, president of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income.
The group says more than 60 bills related to cash-based policies have been introduced in 15 states.
Tubbs, who was mayor of Stockton, California, from 2017 to 2021, also founded Counties for a Guaranteed Income and Legislators for a Guaranteed Income.
He said earlier polling found that a majority of voters supported direct, unconditional cash assistance. Several local leaders who had championed such programs have now moved into higher office, he added. Tubbs said he hoped the newly elected Democratic majorities in the House and Senate would focus on affordability and consider making guaranteed income a lasting policy.
Two current members of the mayors’ coalition won seats in the U.S. House. Neither responded to requests for comment.
Two prominent members of Counties for a Guaranteed Income, a sister network, were also elected to higher office. The other newly elected officials mentioned by the groups did not respond to requests for comment.
Cook County, Illinois, drew attention for creating what officials called the country’s first permanent county-level guaranteed income program. After federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act ran out, county commissioners approved $7.5 million for the program in the fiscal 2026 budget.
Tubbs has argued that the federal government should follow Cook County’s example and establish its own direct-cash assistance program.
In March, he pointed to conflicts overseas and debates over healthcare and federal spending, saying many people felt the social safety net was weakening. He also argued that wealth was increasingly shifting from the many to the few, and said government policy had contributed to inflation and rising costs.
More than 100 guaranteed income pilot programs have launched across the country since 2018, according to the mayors’ coalition. The group now includes more than 150 mayors and supports pilots that provide eligible participants with up to $1,000 a month, without limits on how the money can be spent.
Still, the end of federal pandemic relief funding has left questions about whether local governments can keep these programs going with local tax revenue.
Other progressive advocacy groups are also seeking permanent, taxpayer-funded guaranteed income programs at the state and federal levels.
The Economic Security Project, founded in 2016 by entrepreneurs, activists and philanthropists, has supported more than 100 guaranteed income pilots nationwide.
Shafeka Hashash, the group’s director of cash initiatives, pointed to election results she said were encouraging for advocates. She highlighted Michigan Senate winner Abdul El-Sayed, a longtime supporter of cash programs who spoke at a 2024 guaranteed income conference and contributed to a 2025 report on cash assistance and family health. His campaign used the slogan “Money out of politics. Money in your pocket.”
El-Sayed has backed direct-cash programs to reduce poverty. His campaign platform focused on universal healthcare through Medicare for All, raising the federal minimum wage and strengthening safety-net programs, but cash advocates also see his election as a significant win.
Hashash also noted the return of longtime Child Tax Credit supporter Sherrod Brown to the Senate. She said eight of the 10 newly elected Democratic senators have publicly backed the credit and included it in their campaign platforms.
