Teamsters leadership backs Republican candidates despite rank-and-file preferring Democrats

Teamsters president Sean O’Brien, the first union chief to address the Republican National Convention, has steered the union toward supporting Republican candidates, contributing $1,000 each to Senate hopeful Scott Brown of New Hampshire and to Markwayne Mullin, now the Department of Homeland Security secretary. The union’s political action committee later gave $5,000 to Rep. Rob Bresnahan, prompting the Pennsylvania Conference president Bill Hamilton to endorse the same Republican despite his earlier praise for Democratic mayor Paige Cognetti.

Meanwhile, local chapters in New Hampshire, Michigan and elsewhere have endorsed Democrats such as Chris Pappas, Jocelyn Benson and other progressive candidates. Critics within the union, including at-large vice-president John Palmer, have denounced O’Brien’s GOP outreach as contradictory to members’ preferences. O’Brien’s leadership slate survived an attempted challenge and was re-elected without opposition for another five-year term, while the union declined to endorse any presidential candidate in 2024, citing mixed member support.