{"id":2588357,"date":"2026-04-08T07:34:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T11:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/teamsters-bankroll-democrats-such-as-jay-jones-while-flirting-with-gop\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T07:40:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T11:40:22","slug":"teamsters-bankroll-democrats-such-as-jay-jones-while-flirting-with-gop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/teamsters-bankroll-democrats-such-as-jay-jones-while-flirting-with-gop\/","title":{"rendered":"Teamsters bankroll Democrats such as Jay Jones while flirting with GOP"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fteamsters-bankroll-democrats-such-as-jay-jones-while-flirting-with-gop%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2588357&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article portrays the International Brotherhood of teamsters as pursuing a cautious, two-track political strategy: courting the GOP for influence while the union\u2019s headquarters still overwhelmingly funds liberal causes.During 2024 through early 2026, the Teamsters\u2019 national PAC continued to donate mainly to Democrats-more than 80% of its contributions in early 2025 to 2026 went to Democratic candidates and committees-even as leadership explored working more with Republicans, including sending a team to engage with GOP lawmakers and considering a broader realignment.<\/p>\n<p>the piece highlights several tensions and data points. It notes a controversial donation to Virginia Democrat Jay Jones-the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-virginia-governor-candidate-snubs-invitation-from-police-union\/\" title=\"Democrat Virginia Governor Candidate Snubs Invitation From Police Union\">attorney general candidate<\/a> who had publicized text messages about killing Republicans-made after reports surfaced about those texts. It also cites polling and internal sentiment showing a disconnect: a Teamsters-commissioned poll found just 31% of members favored endorsing Harris in 2024, versus 58% for Trump, and many conservatives remain skeptical about a Teamsters-GOP alliance since union staff and leadership are viewed as increasingly liberal. The LM-2 disclosures reveal that,over 2024-2025,the only explicit GOP group funded was a $50,000 payment to the Republican Main Street Partnership,suggesting limited direct GOP support in practice.<\/p>\n<p>Supporters of closer GOP ties argue that the mixture of social liberalism among corporate backers and the blue-collar workforce\u2019s conservatism makes the pairing sensible, while opponents argue the Teamsters\u2019 leadership and staff remain largely left-of-center and at odds with conservative priorities. The article also points to perceived gains from outreach to the Trump administration, including appointments and concessions, and frames the Teamsters\u2019 approach as a strategic, sometimes opportunistic effort to protect union interests nonetheless of party, rather than a wholesale political realignment.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Teamsters still bankrolling Democrats, including Jay Jones, despite openly flirting with Trump and GOP<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1762091\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>As the International Brotherhood of Teamsters worked to build inroads with the GOP during the 2024 election and its aftermath, records show that its headquarters was still overwhelmingly cutting checks to liberals, including a contribution to Attorney General Jay Jones (D-VA) made after the press reported on text messages in which Jones fantasized about killing Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>The Teamsters <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/magazine\/3336102\/teamsters-sean-obrien-mission-politics-trump-gop\/\">made national headlines<\/a> in 2024 for bucking the norms of organized labor by mulling an endorsement of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, cutting a check to the Republican National Committee, and sending union president Sean O&rsquo;Brien to address the Republican National Convention. While the Teamsters ultimately <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3158467\/teamsters-members-back-trump-over-harris\/\">decided to stay neutral<\/a> in the presidential race, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >media outlets ran scores<\/a> of pieces discussing the possibility of a political realignment within organized labor. Disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission and the Department of Labor, however, show that the Teamsters still overwhelmingly used their financial might to back liberal causes between 2024 and early 2026.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We answer to workers, not political parties,&rdquo; Teamsters spokeswoman Kara Deniz told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;In the past year, Teamsters&rsquo; contributions to Republicans who support American workers have proportionately increased as more elected officials from both parties recognize the value of organized labor.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>While it&rsquo;s true that the Teamsters are giving a greater percentage of their overall contributions to Republicans than in past cycles, the union&rsquo;s strong preference for funding Democratic committees remains out of step with the rank-and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-clears-two-funding-bills-as-jan-30-deadline-fast-approaches\/\" title=\"House clears two funding bills as Jan. 30 deadline fast approaches\">-file members&#038;rsquo<\/a>; preferences.<\/p>\n<p>More than 80% of the donations made by the Teamsters&rsquo; national PAC from January 2025 to February 2026 went to Democratic candidates and committees, a <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>review <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1Wn5HO0LlFQyR_ZZLite-ctjN4lLXbA_fOLMoGrUSb_s\/edit?usp=sharing\">found<\/a>. By contrast, a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/teamster.org\/2024\/09\/teamsters-release-presidential-endorsement-polling-data\/\">poll commissioned<\/a> by the Teamsters in the lead-up to the 2024 election found that just 31% of its members wanted the union to endorse then-Vice President Kamala Harris, compared to 58% who backed a Trump endorsement.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-fledgling-alliance\">A fledgling alliance<\/h2>\n<p>Some conservatives view the Teamsters&rsquo; outreach to the GOP with skepticism, arguing that the policies pushed by unions are inherently out of step with conservatism and that union organizers themselves are still generally liberal.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;As for whether the Teamsters is compatible with the GOP, the union officialdom isn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; Mike Watson, an organized labor expert and director of research at the Capital Research Center, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;The members are more open to the GOP for social-issues reasons, but the staffer class and officers are largely committed Everything Leftists.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Everything Leftism&rdquo; is a turn of phrase used to describe the tendency of some liberal staffers and activists to adopt causes seemingly unrelated to their primary area of focus; environmental groups issuing statements about the war in Gaza is one such example. In a similar vein, many leaders in the labor movement <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/capitalresearch.org\/article\/a-history-of-everything-leftist-unionism-part-4\/\">place emphasis<\/a> on issues such as LGBT rights, abortion policy, and climate change, despite those topics being tangential to the goals of unions themselves.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">International Brotherhood of Teamsters president Sean O&rsquo;Brien speaks as he meets with Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump at their headquarters in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024. (AP Photo\/Andrew Harnik)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Proponents of strengthened ties between the Republican Party and organized labor, meanwhile, argue that the social liberalism pushed by some corporate entities and the relative social conservatism of blue-collar workers make the GOP and organizations such as the Teamsters natural allies.<\/p>\n<p>The Teamsters themselves, however, are still making campaign donations to some of the most socially liberal members of the Democratic Party. Since 2025, the Teamsters have cut checks to, among others, Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D-NY), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Rep. Chuy Garc&iacute;a (D-IL), and New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D), who famously prosecuted Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Weeks after <em>National Review <\/em>published text messages in which Jones, then the Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general, said he would <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3867353\/donations-jay-jones-leaked-text-scandal\/\">murder<\/a> Republican lawmaker Todd Gilbert if given the opportunity and stated that it would be a good thing if Gilbert&rsquo;s children were killed as well, the Teamsters cut a $5,000 check to his inaugural committee.<\/p>\n<p>Deniz, the Teamsters spokeswoman, did not comment specifically on the contribution to Jones when asked about it.<\/p>\n<p>The Teamster&rsquo;s LM-2 disclosures from 2024 and 2025, which document the union&rsquo;s financial activities rather than its political committee, indicate that during the two years O&rsquo;Brien was working to convince the GOP to work with him, his organization only made one political donation to an explicitly conservative group.<\/p>\n<p>Of the hundreds of thousands of dollars the Teamsters spent on &ldquo;political activities and lobbying&rdquo; between <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/olmsapps.dol.gov\/query\/orgReport.do?rptId=911199&amp;rptForm=LM2Form\">2024<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/olmsapps.dol.gov\/query\/orgReport.do?rptId=936051&amp;rptForm=LM2Form\">2025<\/a>, and among myriad groups it supported, the only GOP organization it funded was the Republican Main Street Partnership, which received a $50,000 contribution in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Good faith&rsquo; or &lsquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-allows-temporary-pause-in-abrego-garcia-deportation-case\/\" title=\"Judge allows temporary pause in Abrego Garcia deportation case\">bad faith&#038;rsquo<\/a>; isn&rsquo;t the right way to think about O&rsquo;Brien&rsquo;s outreach game,&rdquo; Watson told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s a shrewd special-interest operator, just like the National Association of Realtors or other play-both-sides lobby groups. He wants to make sure his interests as union boss and organizer aren&rsquo;t &lsquo;on the menu&rsquo; when his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-team-isnt-concerned-with-vance-standing-in-the-spotlight-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"... team isn\u2019t concerned with Vance standing in the spotlight - ...\">team isn&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t in power &mdash; the Democrats will protect his boss-organizer interests anyway because it&rsquo;s in their ideological and coalitional interests.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4480653\/scandal-plagued-labor-department-sends-millions-to-liberal-race-based-organizations\/\"><strong>SCANDAL-PLAGUED LABOR DEPARTMENT SENDS MILLIONS TO LIBERAL, RACE-BASED ORGANIZATIONS&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;So playing open to the GOP is tactically shrewd, and not something we&rsquo;ve seen from a major union since the Feds got the Mafia out of the Teamsters national leadership in the early 1990s,&rdquo; Watson said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, the Teamsters have been able to win real concessions from the Trump administration following their ingratiation campaign. The union, for example, saw <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4480653\/scandal-plagued-labor-department-sends-millions-to-liberal-race-based-organizations\/\">Lori Chavez-DeRemer<\/a>, their preferred candidate for head of the Department of Labor, be nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Senate during the early months of 2025.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Teamsters back Democrats despite GOP flirtations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":894,"featured_media":2588358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP24031731115203.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[3685,6203,77379,77378,19459],"class_list":["post-2588357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-democrats","tag-gop","tag-jayjones","tag-politicalfunding","tag-teamsters"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP24031731115203.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/894"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2588357"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2588361,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588357\/revisions\/2588361"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2588358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2588357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2588357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2588357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}