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November 4, 2026

Democrats Win Big in Midterm Election

On Election Day, Democrats won control of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate for the upcoming 120th Congress, which means the Trump Administration will face a divided government in Washington, DC, for the next two years.

Zoom In: Beyond Washington, Democrats also won four gubernatorial victories in Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, and Texas and secured five new state capital “trifectas” in Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, where they will control the governor’s office and both houses of the legislature in 2027. Franchising is likely to face new legislation impacting wages, benefits, and franchise agreements in states where power shifted.

What’s Next: The election results mean it's now or never to pass the American Franchise Act before year’s end. Register to join IFA Chief Advocacy Officer Mike Layman and the Government Relations team for an exclusive member briefing explaining everything franchise businesspeople need to know about the 2026 midterm results on Monday, November 9 at 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT.

IFA Works to Restore Key Tax Credit

In addition to the American Franchise Act, IFA is also supporting passage of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) before the current 119th Congress adjourns at year’s end, via the bipartisan Improve and Enhance the Work Opportunity Tax Credit Act (H.R. 6231 / S. 3265).

Go Deeper: Many franchise businesses have benefited from WOTC, a tax credit for hiring employees from groups that have traditionally faced employment barriers. The bill restores and extends the tax credit, which expired in Dec. 2025, through 2030 (retroactive to Jan. 1, 2026), boosts the wage credit from 40% to 50%, adds inflation indexing, creates a 400-hour retention incentive, and includes military spouses.

What’s Next: The bill would need to be attached to must-pass year-end funding or disaster relief legislation to get through this Congress. While an extension carries broad bipartisan support, Members of Congress have raised concerns about budget constraints and cost.

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Legislation Would Boost Restaurants Using Delivery Apps

On October 22, U.S. Reps. Susie Lee (D-NV) and John McGuire (R-VA) introduced the bipartisan PROTECT Small Restaurants Act (H.R. 10885), which would bar delivery service platforms from taking orders for a restaurant without a written partnership agreement.

Why It Matters: While restaurants are facing increasing fees and expanded pricing regulations, delivery service providers are often not subject to the same pricing policies, and this legislation would make such apps subject to transparent rules.

What’s Next: Meanwhile, last week the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 8 states sued restaurant point-of-sale (POS) provider Toast, alleging hidden fees and subscriptions that are hard for restaurant small business owners to cancel.