After polling their membership and finding the majority support the reelection of former President Donald Trump, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has chosen to skip an endorsement this election cycle.

According to a series of straw polls and surveys conducted by the union, when held against the 45th President, support among union members for President Joe Biden was high but support for his vice president is low.

Considering this, the union’s leadership chose to forego adding their weight to either side of the political scales for the first time in decades.

“The General Executive Board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Wednesday elected not to endorse any candidate for U.S. President,” the union said in a release.

Their decision, union leaders say, comes after “reviewing six months of nationwide member polling and wrapping up nearly a year of rank-and-file roundtable interviews with all major candidates for the presidency.”

In the end, neither candidate met the bar for an endorsement, Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said.

“Democrats, Republicans, and Independents proudly call our union home, and we have a duty to represent and respect every one of them. We strongly encourage all our members to vote in the upcoming election, and to remain engaged in the political process. But this year, no candidate for president has earned the endorsement of the Teamsters’ International Union,” he said.

Trump national press secretary Karoline Leavitt says that even if the board didn’t vote to pick a candidate, it’s clear who the rank and file union members want to see sitting behind the Resolute Desk.

“The hardworking members of the Teamsters have been loud and clear — they want President Trump back in the White House! These hardworking men and women are the backbone of America and President Trump will strongly stand up for them when he’s back in the White House,” Leavitt said.

According to their surveys, polled Teamsters picked Biden over Trump 44% to 36%, but picked Trump over Harris, 58% to 31%. Union leadership backed the Democratic ticket in each of the presidential elections held so far this century, including in 2016 and 2020.

_____

©2024 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at bostonherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.