Miami
FLORIDA Teamsters chief backs Republican Ashley Moody in Florida Senate race
Sean O’Brien said he cast his ballot for the Republican senator and praised her work with the union. The move stands out from the traditional alignment between major labor groups and Democrats.
Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien endorsed Republican Sen. Ashley Moody in Florida’s U.S. Senate race, an unusual political move for the head of a major national union.
Fox News Politics reported that O’Brien said he voted in Florida for the first time and cast his ballot for Moody. He said the senator had helped the union on issues including pension protection, support for good-paying jobs and funding for union apprenticeship programs.
According to the outlet, O’Brien also said the Teamsters want to work with Moody in her role on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to advance the Faster Labor Contracts Act.
Fox News Politics noted that O’Brien, who describes himself as a lifelong Democrat, had already appeared at the 2024 Republican National Convention, where he said the Democratic Party had turned down his request to speak at its convention.
Moody, a former Florida attorney general, said in a statement cited by the outlet that she was proud to receive the endorsement and would keep focusing on protecting workers, strengthening well-paid jobs and making sure resources are available to train the next generation.
After O’Brien’s endorsement, Democratic opponent Angie Nixon responded on X with a photo she had taken with the union leader and argued, according to Fox News Politics, that Moody had not stood with workers on the picket line. Nixon also addressed rank-and-file Teamsters and said she would continue to stand with them.
The endorsement also drew criticism online. Fox News Politics said some users questioned O’Brien’s decision to vote in Florida, reading it as a sign he had moved from Boston, while others used derogatory union language to attack him.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
