The political divide over the role that environmental, social and governance factors should play in state pension investments stands to deepen as Republicans gained some ground in the midterm elections and the Labor Department issued a new, pro-ESG rule for retirement plans.

Certain Republican-controlled states, such as Florida, in recent months have launched or proposed rules that require state pensions and treasuries to consider only “pecuniary factors”— which can have a material effect on investments’ risk and return — in their investment decisions, as they believe investments based on ESG considerations violate those entities’ fiduciary duties. Other states, including Texas, have blacklisted asset managers for allegedly boycotting sectors such as oil and gas, coal and firearms, effectively barring them from investing with such managers.