Zweifel, Koster Advance to Face Republican Candidates in State

Elections



    WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 /EMWNews/ -- Teamster-endorsed

candidates Clint Zweifel and Chris Koster won heated battles in the

Missouri State Democratic Primary on Tuesday, as working families in the

"Show Me" state took an important step in electing politicians that will

work to protect their interests.



    Zweifel, a state representative and member of Teamsters Local 688 in

St. Louis, Missouri, won a clear victory over four other candidates for

state treasurer, garnering more than 31 percent of the votes. Zweifel has

been a staunch supporter of working families, fighting for high-quality

education, retirement security and access to affordable health care.



    "As a state representative, Clint has been a true champion for the

working men and women of Missouri," said Teamsters General President Jim

Hoffa. "A lifelong Missourian from a working-class family and a union

member, Clint has firsthand knowledge of the challenges middle-class,

blue-collar workers face every day. As state treasurer, I know he will

continue to fight the good fight."



    As state senator, Koster became the first politician in the history of

Missouri state politics to switch parties, leaving the Republican party to

become a Democrat after the state's GOP strayed too far from his personal

and political values. As a state senator, Koster has been on the side of

working families, and has promised to fight for them as attorney general.



    "Chris Koster is a man who knows what it takes to fight against special

interests bent of eroding workers' rights in the state," Hoffa said. "In

the state senate, he fought to defeat an effort to make Missouri a

right-to-work state. Koster is a candidate our members can depend on."



    Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents

more than 1.4 million hard-working men and women in the United States,

Canada and Puerto Rico.