Election/Election Integrity

Major Union That Previously Backed Biden Declines To Endorse Presidential Candidate

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with reporters after disembarking from Air Force Two, July 25, 2024. (Screen Capture/CSPAN)

The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) announced Thursday that it will not endorse a candidate in this year’s presidential election.

IAFF has previously advocated for Democratic candidates and supported President Joe Biden early in 2020 but has shifted its stance by choosing not to endorse any candidate in the upcoming presidential election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Edward Kelly, president of the IAFF, cited a narrow 1.2-point vote margin by the union’s executive board as the reason for not endorsing a candidate.

A statement from @IAFFPresident following today’s IAFF Executive Board meeting pic.twitter.com/D6K6eQFrF7

— International Association of Fire Fighters (@IAFFofficial) October 3, 2024

“Over the past year, the IAFF took unprecedented steps to hear our members’ views on the candidates and the policy issues that matter most to them,” Kelly said in a statement on X.

“As we have over our 106-year history, the IAFF will continue its work to improve the lives of fire fighters and their families. The IAFF Executive Board determined that we are better able to advocate for our members and make progress on the issues that matter to them if we, as a union, are standing shoulder-to-shoulder. This decision, which we took very seriously, is the best way to preserve and strengthen our unity,” Kelly added.

IAFF contributed approximately $1.5 million to federal candidates in both the 2016 and 2020 elections, directing over 80% of those funds to Democrats, according to Open Secrets. In 2020, the IAFF’s Political Action Committee (PAC) endorsed Biden early in the race, donating $5,000 directly to his campaign and approximately $300,000 in independent expenditures, including a “Fire Fighters for Biden” initiative.

The announcement follows a similar stance taken by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, as the union also withheld their endorsement in the 2024 presidential race on Sept. 18, despite internal polls revealing a significant preference for Trump among its members. While 59.6% of the surveyed members backed Trump, only 31% supported Harris, leading the union to declare that neither candidate garnered sufficient consensus to warrant an endorsement.