According to the latest independent Teamsters poll, almost 60% of union members seek to endorse Donald Trump over a 30% minority who favor Harris.
The current election cycle has brought some surprising turn of events in the organization’s political stance. The historically Democrat union was considering Trump as its potential choice, but earlier this week opted instead to endorse no one.
Teamsters leader Sean O’Brien had been carefully vetting each candidate, neither of whom he believed would be a natural fit for endorsement. He told CNN’s Dana Bash this week that he couldn’t get commitments to top union issues from either Harris or Trump.
However, union members have shown that they greatly favor Trump over Harris. O’Brien responded to these findings by saying, “Our final decision around a possible Presidential endorsement will not be made lightly, but you can be sure it will be driven directly by our diverse membership.”
In the intervening days, O’Brien has shifted his stance, and by extension that of the union, to one of political neutrality.
“We can advise, but at the end of the day, our job is not to dictate to our members,” O’Brien said. “It’s to give them information so that they can make the best decision on behalf of themselves and their families.”
This marks the third time since 1960 that the Teamsters have opted to not endorse a candidate in a presidential race. The most recent occurrence was 1996 when Bill Clinton defeated Bob Dole.