The Trail: A Daily Diary of Campaign 2008

Iowa Union Endorsement For Obama

While Sen. Barack Obama prepared for the Las Vegas debate, his campaign announced a key endorsement, from the United Auto Workers Region 4, which includes 30,000 members and retirees in Iowa.

Delegates voted to back Obama after a weeklong conference that included appearances by all the major Democratic candidates.

"There are many talented Democrats in the presidential field this year, but Barack Obama is the leader who will bring the kind of change to Washington that America's working men and women can believe in," said UAW Local 442 (Webster City, IA) President Paul Erickson. "For the last two decades, working families have been able to count on Barack Obama to stand up for us and our values. We are supporting him, because we know he'll do the same thing in the White House."

Region 4 represents 64,000 active and 122,000 retirees in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Its support could yield significant dividends in the Hawkeye state, where Obama is locked in a tight battle with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards.

"Senator Obama's ability to win the support of Republicans and independents won't just make him the strongest Democrat in the general election - it'll make him the kind of President who can actually get things done for working Americans," said Iowa UAW retiree Andy Anderson, in a statement issued by the Obama campaign. "This endorsement is not about lending our name to his campaign. We're committed to his campaign and are committed to doing the kind of hard work at the grassroots level that'll be critical to his success on Caucus night."

--Shailagh Murray

Posted at 5:44 PM ET on Nov 15, 2007
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Posted by: leftmidfield | November 15, 2007 11:02 PM

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