The Teamsters union will not back a presidential candidate this election cycle even as rank-and-file members support former President Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which consists largely of truckers and UPS drivers, released internal polling of its membership Wednesday that found 58% support Trump compared to the 31% who back Harris.
“For the past year, the Teamsters union has pledged to conduct the most inclusive, democratic, and transparent presidential endorsement process in the history of our 121-year-old organization — and today we are delivering on that promise to our members,” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said in a press release.
“Our members are the union, and their voices and opinions must be at the forefront of everything the Teamsters do,” he added.
But the union announced minutes later it would not endorse either candidate, saying they had made “serious commitments” to the union.
The news comes two days after O’Brien met with Harris at the Teamster union’s Washington, D.C., headquarters and two months after O’Brien raised eyebrows in political circles by speaking at the Republican National Committee. Labor leaders have largely backed Harris’s candidacy, but an endorsement from the Teamsters, one of the largest unions in the country, would have been a major political victory for Trump.
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Trump fared worse against President Joe Biden, who exited the presidential race this summer. An initial Teamsters poll conducted before he dropped out found that the president led Trump 44.3% to 36.3% among members.
But Harris took Biden’s spot at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket amid fears the president would lose the White House and hurt congressional candidates downballot. The Washington Examiner has contacted both campaigns for comment.