With Election Day almost here, federal employee organizations are trying to make sure some friendly faces claim victory Tuesday night. Some of those faces might belong to Republicans.

The outcome of the vote could have a big impact on the lives of federal workers. Congress decides bread-and-butter issues, like government pay and retirement benefits, that play a central role in the lives of millions of people, including federal retirees and family members. Congressional decisions on agency budgets even determine the number of staffers.

So it makes sense that federal employee organizations, through their political action committees and grass-roots mobilization, would try to influence the outcome of congressional elections. This year is no exception.

“NTEU’s 2014 election strategy focuses on our traditional activities of voter registration, voter education, canvassing and GOTV (get out the vote) efforts,” said Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union. “This year, we have implemented a phone-banking program with a new twist. NTEU is using new technology that allows our members to easily make and track calls to their co-workers and follow up with additional information or information about volunteering. They can do all of this from home without having to go to a central location to get information, call sheets or scripts.”

The $650,000 that NTEU is spending this election cycle is “slightly more” than during previous midterm elections, Kelley said.

Though Democratic candidates generally win the support of labor unions, including those representing feds, there are exceptions. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), for example, has endorsed 13 Republicans for House seats.

In the Washington, D.C., area, Virginia Republican Rep. Rob Wittman is among the candidates NTEU, AFGE and the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) are supporting. His retiring colleague, Rep. Frank Wolf, another Virginia Republican, also was supported by federal employee groups.

This year, however, AFGE, NTEU and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) endorsed Democrat John Foust for the 10th District seat Wolf now holds over Republican Barbara Comstock, a former Wolf aide who makes much of her ties to him.

In Senate races, Republican endorsements from federal unions include IFPTE’s backing of Maine Sen. Susan Collins and NTEU’s support for Rep. Shelley Moore Capito in her race to represent West Virginia.

“When it comes to the support for individual candidates, NARFE employs a process which evaluates the voting record of a sitting Member, the response of candidates to our candidate questionnaire, the input of local constituent NARFE members, and our reasoned assessment of the viability of the individual race,” said Jessie Klement, NARFE’s legislative director. “The bottom line is that we support members and candidates who support our agenda.”

Read more about the support of federal employee organizations for congressional candidates in the Federal Diary online Sunday and in Monday’s printed editions of The Washington Post.