OAN Staff Blake Wolf
1:39 PM – Thursday, October 3, 2024
The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) announced on Thursday that it would not be endorsing a presidential candidate, which is in stark contrast from the 2020 election, as it was the first major union to endorse now-President Joe Biden.
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“This decision, which we took very seriously, is the best way to preserve and strengthen our unity,” the IAFF stated.
The IAFF represents over 300,000 members ranging from career firefighters to emergency responders, a key coalition that both Vice President Kamala Harris and GOP candidate Donald Trump had attempted to court, but without success.
The loss of the IAFF union is particularly damaging to Harris’s campaign, as the union has a long history of supporting Democrat candidates. It has endorsed a Democrat in every single presidential election since 1984, except for the 2016 election, when GOP candidate Donald Trump was running against Democrat Hillary Clinton.
“This is another devastating blow to Kamala Harris’s failing campaign,” stated Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “Hard-working Americans including Teamsters, firefighters, Border Patrol Agents, law enforcement officers, teachers, small business owners, moms and dads are sick and tired from the inflation, border crisis, and chaos caused by Kamala’s incompetence and terrible policies.”
Additionally, the IAFF’s noncommittal move marks the second major trade union to abstain from endorsing any candidate in 2024, as the Teamsters International trade union, which represents over 1.3 million workers, similarly decided to remain uncommitted.
“Today the IAFF Executive Board, by a margin of 1.2%, voted to not enforce a candidate in the 2024 presidential election,” stated IAFF General President Edward Kelly.
“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,” he continued.
“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,” he added. “The decision, which we took very seriously, is the best way to preserve and strengthen our unity.”
Meanwhile, rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), the first career firefighter paramedic member of Congress and retired IAFF member, spoke on the non-endorsement.
“I’m pretty sure there was a big struggle for some people that wanted to endorse President Trump and some people wanted to endorse Kamala Harris,” Gimenez continued. “It’s a big shift in that union not giving an endorsement… I think the majority of the membership wanted to endorse President Trump… This is the second major union that has failed to endorse the Democratic nominee – that’s a big deal.”
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