United Auto Workers endorses Kamala Harris as polls show gains

As Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, gained ground in the latest polls, the Vice President landed a key endorsement from the United Auto Workers (UAW), one of the largest unions in America with over 400,000 active members.

In a post to X, the union touted the Indian American presidential contender as a champion against “corporate greed,” and took a swipe at Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump.

“We can put a billionaire back in office who stands against everything our union stands for, or we can elect @KamalaHarris who will stand shoulder to shoulder with us in our war on corporate greed,” read the post.

UAW’s endorsement on Wednesday is not much of a surprise, given that the group had previously endorsed President Joe Biden before he withdrew his reelection bid. Trump, who previously fought for the UAW endorsement, has repeatedly criticized the union’s president, Shawn Fain.

The UAW said in a statement to its website that Harris’ campaign plans to travel to Detroit on Aug 7 to rally with Michigan voters and “thousands of working-class people.”

READ: 63 state and local South Asian American leaders endorse Kamala Harris (August 1, 2024)

“Our job in this election is to defeat Donald Trump and elect Kamala Harris to build on her proven track record of delivering for the working class,” Fain stated.

Harris has been riding a wave of momentum for her candidacy since entering the 2024 race, Newsweek noted. Several polls, including one released by The Economist/You Gov on Wednesday, show that the vice president has narrowed or erased the lead that Trump held in the days leading up to Biden dropping out.

When presented with a hypothetical matchup between Harris and Trump, 46% of the 1,610 adults surveyed by The Economist/You Gov survey said they backed the vice president, while 44% favored Trump. The lead is within the poll’s margin of error of 3.3%. The results were collected from July 27 to July 30.

In a poll conducted from June 30 to July 2, Trump was beating Biden 42% to 40%. From July 13 to July 16, the former president still held a 2-point lead over Biden (43% to 41%).

READ: ‘South Asian Women for Harris’ raises over $250,000 (July 25, 2024)

Wednesday’s poll from The Economist/YouGov also found that Harris has a higher favorability rating than Trump or his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance. While Harris has a net favorability rating of negative 4 percentage points, Trump’s net rating was negative 9 points. Vance was the lowest, with a net favorability rating of negative 11 points.

Harris also received a boost in several critical swing states this week. According to a Bloomberg News/Morning Consultant poll released Tuesday, the vice president had gained on Trump across seven battleground states, holding a 1-point lead over the former president.

At the beginning of the month, the pollster’s survey showed Biden trailing Trump by 2 percentage points across the states surveyed, which include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.