Powerful US labor union delivers blow to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign with endorsement opt-out

One of the most prominent labor unions in the United States, which has backed every Democratic presidential nominee since 2000, has decided not to support Kamala Harris.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, representing over 1.3 million workers, has announced it will not endorse any candidate for the upcoming presidential election. In a vote by the union’s leadership, polling revealed that a majority of members, 58%, favored Republican Donald Trump over the sitting vice president, Democrat Kamala Harris, who received 31% support.

“Regrettably, neither candidate provided strong enough assurances that our union’s priorities—putting working people ahead of corporate interests—would be met,” said union president Sean O’Brien in a statement released Wednesday.

Previously, the union supported Democratic candidates including Joe Biden in 2020, Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Barack Obama in both 2008 and 2012.

This lack of endorsement presents a significant challenge for Harris, given the Teamsters’ influence among blue-collar workers in key battleground states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. Securing votes in these states, where economic concerns like inflation and high prices are prominent, just became more difficult for the vice president.

According to a Marist Institute for Public Opinion poll released Thursday, Harris and Trump are running close in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Meanwhile, an August poll from The New York Times and Siena College found Trump holding a 13-point lead over Harris among white, non-college-educated voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.