With a little over six months remaining until Election Day, Nov. 5, Donald Trump remains the overwhelming favorite for president among Overdrive readers, according to polling conducted in February, though not by as large a margin as the same time four years ago.
In March 2020, 79% of readers indicated their support for then-President Trump, with just 13% voicing support for Joe Biden.
Four years on, 67% of Overdrive readers still support Trump, with Biden getting 17% of readers' support. When polling was conducted in February, Nikki Haley had yet to drop out of the Republican Party Primary, and 6% of readers indicated support for her campaign. On the Democratic Party side, primary candidate Dean Phillips garnered less than a single percentage point. Both Haley and Phillips' shares are reflected in the chart below in the "Other" column.
The support for Trump among Overdrive readers lines up with where the money is flowing from the bank accounts of the trucking industry as a whole, according to data compiled by OpenSecrets and based on publicly available data from the Federal Election Commission.
So far during this election cycle, 82% of trucking entities' contributions have gone to Republican candidates in the Presidential and Congressional races, while just 17% has gone to Democrats. Trucking has donated $5.8 million to political candidates during the 2024 cycle. Of those contributions, $4.5 million has gone to Republicans, just under $1 million to Democrats.
In the presidential race, the trucking industry has overwhelmingly supported Trump over other candidates based on campaign contributions. Trump has received $402,685 from trucking donors -- nearly four times as much as the next-highest candidate, Republican Nikki Haley, whose campaign netted $102,829 from trucking donors. Republican Ron DeSantis has received the third-most money from trucking at $84,214.
Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sits fourth among presidential candidates with $48,285 in contributions, followed by President Joe Biden at $38,932.
Outside of the Presidential race, top trucking campaign fund recipients include: Rep. Sam Graves (R-Missouri), who’s received $77,550; Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California; $58,533); and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas; $57,313).
Top trucking contributors include Prime Inc. ($537,528), WB Transport ($406,275), the American Trucking Associations ($303,674), Centra Inc. ($298,706), and Davison Transport ($270,500). The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has donated $70,500 to political campaigns.
Among the top 20 trucking contributors, only two -- WB Transport and J.B. Hunt -- have donated more to Democratic campaigns than Republican campaigns.
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