Report IV · Released June 11, 2026

IBEW

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers · Largest in the trade members

IBEW spent $1.5 million on golf during the Trump era. Not a penny went to a Trump property.

The Bottom Line

97% of the more than $11 million IBEW spent on candidates went to Democrats — and IBEW's own president took the DNC stage to endorse Kamala Harris.

An electrician at the top of a steel transmission tower at dusk, silhouetted against a darkening industrial sky

Political Spending

The Money

IBEW spent nearly $100 million on politics from 2017 to 2024. The hard-dollar PAC isn't meaningfully bipartisan — it's a Democratic infrastructure fund.

$99,706,116

Total political spending 2017–2024

DOL LM-2 filings

Federal & State Candidate Spending

Democrats

97%

Republicans

Of the more than $11 million IBEW spent on federal and state candidates, 97% went to Democrats.

$1,545,000

To Democratic National Committee

$3,000,000

To House Majority PAC + Senate Majority PAC

Also funded

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee ($1,065,000). The committee spending is, in AAF's words, "a sustained investment in Democratic political infrastructure."

Chief of Staff Ricky Oakland

Personally donated to Kamala Harris Victory Fund while serving as IBEW's national-headquarters Chief of Staff

Worst President Ever

Anti-MAGA Advocacy

IBEW's president took the DNC stage. The union turned its official social channels into a Harris campaign mouthpiece. And its leaders publicly called Trump's policies "bullshit" and described him as the worst President ever.

A pair of worn work boots with an American flag pin — IBEW electricians vote Trump. Their president went to the DNC to endorse Kamala Harris.

2024 Presidential endorsement

Kamala Harris / Tim Walz — with International President Kenneth Cooper attending the Democratic National Convention to deliver the endorsement

“The worst President ever.”

— Quoted by IBEW on X, October 11, 2024

Used official union social media

To amplify Harris campaign messaging — IBEW's accounts repeatedly reposted Harris content attacking President Trump

Sec-Treas Paul Noble

Publicly warned about the "consequences of a second Trump term"

Attacked

President Trump's energy policies — particularly his stance on wind and other green energy — using IBEW's official platforms

Endorsed

Governor Tim Walz, with Cooper, Noble, and other senior leaders repeatedly pictured supporting him publicly

$1.5 Million on Golf — None of It at Trump Properties

The Waste

IBEW spent over $300 million on wasteful categories during the Trump era. $1.5 million of that went to golf courses and golf products. Not one dollar went to a Trump-owned course.

A manicured golf course at dusk with an empty clubhouse glowing in the distance, a single abandoned cart at the edge of the green — Allenmore. Aston Oaks. A dozen others. Trump properties: zero.

$1,500,000+

Spent on golf courses & golf products since 2017

DOL LM-2 filings

$300,000,000+

Total wasteful spending 2017–2024

$100,000+

Six figures spent on zoo trips

The kicker

Despite President Trump owning some of the finest golf courses in America, IBEW did not spend a single dollar at any Trump property over the entire eight-year period.

Leadership Salaries vs. The Electricians

Self-Enrichment

The average IBEW electrician earns $83,736. International President Kenneth Cooper earns over 5× that. 78% of IBEW's national headquarters earns over $100,000.

An opulent hotel lobby with chandeliers and marble floors at night — The world the bosses fly to. The world their dues built.

The Salary Gap

Kenneth Cooper — International President

$462,434

Average IBEW electrician

$83,736

IBEW's international president earns more than 5.5× the median electrician he claims to represent.

$407,389

Paul Noble — International Secretary-Treasurer

2024 LM-2

$285,009

Five senior officers — each

Four International Vice Presidents and Chief of Staff Ricky Oakland — identical to the dollar

30%

HQ staff earning >$200,000

78%

HQ staff earning >$100,000

The Pattern

IBEW is one of seven.

IBEW is not an outlier. Across seven major American industrial unions, the same pattern repeats: rank-and-file members who voted for Trump, led by executives who fund his opposition.