Republicans are continuing to receive labor union support amid Teamsters Union President Sean O’Brien repeatedly lambasting Democrats for allegedly deserting the working class.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ Democrat, Republican, Independent Voter Education (DRIVE) PAC has doled out nearly $70,000 to Republicans this year. The donations mark the second cycle in a row that the Teamsters’ political arm has donated to Republican candidates after contributing to Democrats exclusively for roughly two decades.
“Our members are working people whose interests cut across party lines,” Kara Deniz, a Teamsters spokesperson told POLITICO’s Playbook, who was first to report the DRIVE PAC contributions. “And there’s no value in living in a bubble … where you only talk to certain people to the exclusion of others.”
The Teamsters’ political arm contributed $5,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), House Republicans’ campaign arm, and a combined $62,000 to 22 House Republicans, including New York Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, Andrew Garbarino, Nick LaLota, Mike Lawler as well as New Jersey Reps. Jeff Van Drew and Chris Smith during 2025’s second fundraising quarter.
O’Brien has been a fierce critic of the Democratic Party’s apparent failure to engage the working class despite former President Joe Biden frequently touting his one-term tenure as “the most pro-union” presidency in American history.
“Where the Democrats lost … they fell in love with their captors. They fell in love with big money. They fell in love with big tech. And they forgot who they’re truly representing: working people. You know why? Because they’re not in their communities, not in their neighborhoods,” O’Brien said on “Honestly with Bari Weiss” Tuesday. “They’re not talking to the people that they’re paid to represent.”
“Look, this whole election for the Democrats was based on social justice issues, right?” O’Brien added. “And it seemed like this narrative of the social justice issues, it didn’t identify with our members. Our members identify with more money in their pockets, more job protection, better pensions.”
The Teamsters’ boss was the first union president to speak at a Republican National Convention (RNC) in July 2024 during which O’Brien sought to build a closer relationship between the union and Republican candidates. The Teamsters declined to endorse a presidential candidate during the 2024 presidential election following internal surveys revealing that nearly 60% of their members supported Trump over former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump courted the labor vote during the 2024 political cycle, winning a majority of noncollege voters of all racial backgrounds and voters earning less than $50,000 per year last November.
Republican strategists are seeking to maintain support from working class voters ahead of the midterms as Democratic groups invest tens of millions of dollars to win back the voting bloc.
“Hardworking men and women across the country are rallying behind Republicans up and down the ballot because we fight for their jobs, their families, and their future,” NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said in a statement. “Democrats have abandoned them for their deeply out of touch, radical policies.”
“These voters are key to holding and growing our majority and we plan on doing everything we can to keep earning their support,” Marinella continued.
The Teamsters’ political arm is continuing to financially support Democratic candidates and causes. The DRIVE PAC contributed $200,000 to the Democratic Attorneys General Association and $100,000 to the Democratic Governors’ Association during the second fundraising quarter.
A spokesperson for the Teamsters did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment
Caden Olson contributed to this report.
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