September 9, 2026
Why the freshman class must be won before they arrive in Washington
New Faces, New Risks
More than 100 new members are expected to win on November 3, welcoming to Washington one of the largest freshman classes to Congress in modern history. That number will likely climb further as populist, anti-establishment momentum, and record-low levels of trust in institutions push voters to oust more incumbents.
Freshmen lawmakers in Congress and in statehouses across America are gaining positions of influence faster than ever before. House members are going on to lead successful statewide campaigns for governor and U.S. Senate. Many have also been confirmed to Cabinet positions for recent Republican and Democratic administrations alike.
This rewrites the risk map for any company or industry with business before Congress. Political outsiders are steering party agendas, and more candidates are running against corporate America and major U.S. industries.
Who’s Coming to Washington in 2027
At LSG, we’ve built our bipartisan public affairs expertise in every congressional district in the U.S. as we’ve gotten to know candidates well before they ran for office: When they were small town mayors, local business owners, or first-time advocates at city councils and school boards.
The grievance against corporate America this cycle is manifesting in different forms at the local level.
Let’s look at a few of the candidates who are going to win in November.
-Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old attorney in Denver, Colorado, unseated a 15-term incumbent in her primary. She is arriving guns blazing with Medicare for All as her signature issue and a plan, she is calling for to hold health care companies accountable for what Americans pay for care.
-Michael Alfonso won Trump and MAHA Action endorsements in an open seat in Wisconsin. At age 26, he is a first-time candidate who came to politics as a parish accountant and podcast producer. His sights are set on keeping synthetic dyes out of the food supply.
-Even more moderate candidates, like Christina Hines in Michigan, are running on campaign platforms to hold Big Tech accountable and regulate social media. Ms. Hines is a former special victims’ prosecutor and mother of three – and this background has undoubtedly informed and shaped the politics she wants to bring to Washington.
While their top issues take aim at different industries, candidates across the political spectrum are coming to Washington with increasing ire against U.S. companies and sectors – which at the same time are vital drivers to the American economy. This means that industries and brands need to find new ways to tell their story to policymakers and regulators.
The Narrow Window that Only Gets Smaller from Here
Freshmen members of Congress are most impressionable early in their career – back home on the trail and immediately after Election Day before they’re settled in Washington.
For the last 20 years, LSG has helped clients build relationships with new members of Congress through the people at home who they know and trust. But that window does not stay open long. On the campaign trail, candidates are eager to meet constituents and shape positions around local concerns. Win the race, and the calculus changes overnight: staff to hire, committees to chase, and a line of meeting requests out the door.
LSG’s New Member Bootcamp
Our New Member Bootcamp program is built on a three-pronged strategy to help clients organically cultivate policy champions:
–We get time with members-elect – as fast as we can: We recruit a local leader allied with a client’s top issue to request a meeting with the candidate or member-elect.
–We build an experience: One in-district, member-level introduction meeting, often including other local advocates who bring different supportive points of view.
–Everything else helps make that meeting memorable: We leverage local earned media, positive social visibility, and wrap-around engagement from local grasstops figures the member trusts.
The bootcamp converts from a single touchpoint to a chorus of multi-touch engagement across different channels.
Powerful Relationships That Shape U.S. & Global Politics
That early influence grows as members of Congress climb the ranks in Washington. Someone in the back row today can hold a gavel within a few terms. The industries that helped educate lawmakers at the start tend to keep their access as lawmakers become more powerful.
The results speak for themselves.
When Republican Mike Waltzarrived in Congress in 2019, an LSG bootcamp on environmental issues set the table for legislation he went on to champion: a bill to convert retired Navy ships into artificial reefs. Today, Waltz serves as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
Democrats Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger were elected that same cycle in 2018 to represent New Jersey and Virginia respectively. LSG was among the first meetings both members took before even being sworn in. Sherrill and Spanberger now serve as governors for their home states.
All three relationships started in these lawmakers’ first term in the U.S. House of Representatives. They didn’t end there.
Act Now or Risk Being Sidelined
The next few months will decide whether your organization shapes the legislative agenda for the 120th Congress – or cedes ground to those who engage early. The freshman class of the 120th Congress is being shaped right now, not in January, and the organizations that show up first will be the ones these lawmakers remember when it matters.