The Sunshine State chapter of the country’s largest trade union for public-sector employees just released nine endorsements, mostly Miami-Dade County-facing, ahead of qualifying for the 2026 Midterms.

This week, AFSCME Florida announced it is formally backing former state Senator and Assistant U.S. Secretary of Labor José Javier Rodríguez, who is running for Attorney General, and recently elected Democratic Sen. Brian Nathan in Senate District 14.

Rodríguez, a lawyer, represented part of Miami-Dade while serving in the Senate. He narrowly lost a Senate re-election bid in 2020, after what was revealed to be a “ghost candidate” scheme in which a similarly named independent candidate was paid to run and siphon away votes meant for Rodríguez.

Nathan, an electrician by trade, serves part of Hillsborough County in the Senate.

Other AFSCME Florida nods, all in Miami-Dade, went to County Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez and incumbent County Commissioners Marleine Bastien, Juan Carlos “J.C.” Bermudez, Danielle Cohen Higgins, Vicki Lopez, Natalie Milian Orbis and Micky Steinberg.

Anthony Rodriguez, Bastien, Bermudez, Cohen Higgins and Steinberg are running for re-election in technically nonpartisan contests.

Lopez and Milian Orbis are running to keep the seats they gained by appointment last year. All are seeking a final four-year term on the 13-member panel, after which they’d have to leave office due to term limits.

Bastien faces three challengers, according to Miami-Dade election records — Ernst Jean, Elizabeth Jeanty and Miguel “Skip” Quintero — while Cohen Higgins and Lopez have one opponent each: Martha “Vega” Hero and Joe Sanchez, respectively.

Anthony Rodriguez, Milian Orbis and Steinberg are currently unopposed.

José Javier Rodríguez is competing in a Democratic Primary for the Attorney General’s race, where Republican appointee James Uthmeier is defending. To face each other, Rodríguez and Uthmeier must get past Primary foes Jim Lewis and Steven Leskovich.

The deadline to qualify for County Commission races is June 9.

Qualifying for state-level races closes June 12.

The Primary is Aug. 18, followed by the General Election on Nov. 3.