Small business owners in the trucking industry are “concerned about Kamala Harris’ impact” regarding increased regulations and costs, a major Chicago-based trucking company executive said.
Mike Kucharski, co-owner and vice president of JKC Trucking, the city’s biggest specialty contract carrier, told Fox News on Thursday there are five main reasons why truckers are supporting former President Donald Trump over the vice president.
“Costs, increased regulatory burdens, infrastructure, driving range of the trucks and less cargo capacity due to the battery” are the top issues of many truckers Kucharski has employed and communicated with, the outlet reported.
While the business owner said he does not typically vote along party lines, he holds the opinion that Harris’s impact would be bad for business.
“I personally don’t vote along party lines, but I support candidates with policies. And I would say policies are the gateway to truckers’ vote — policies that help small business thrive,” he told the publication. “Right now, a lot of small business owners in the trucking industry are seriously concerned about Kamala Harris’ impact on our industry if she takes office.”
“Truckers are already struggling to stay afloat due to issues like skyrocketing diesel costs. It’s pouring too much for diesel. Truckers are driving less miles, paying more for fuel,” Kucharski said of the industry’s top concern.
“Another blow to truckers is this increased regulatory burdens. Truckers are overregulated,” he added.
While the Harris campaign denied supporting electric vehicle (EV) mandates in a statement to Fox News, the Biden-Harris administration used the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to rule that up to two-thirds of all new car sales to be electric by 2032 back in March, Breitbart News reported.
According to a September analysis from the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), the administration’s EV requirements could “wipe out 123,000 auto manufacturing jobs.”
Kucharski noted that while truckers are overall supportive of electric trucks, the industry is not ready to be forced to comply with the stringent mandates put in place by Biden-Harris’s EPA.
“The small trucking companies simply can’t absorb these extreme costs. And people are saying the larger companies could do it. But I think they’re going to have an issue. It’s a great idea, but I don’t think it’s going to work,” Kucharski said of the rule.
“Trump has a little different perspective,” he continued. “Donald Trump, during COVID, brought truckers to the White House and thanked them for being essential workers.”
“Truckers really have hope that he’ll walk back on just some of these regulations, because we’re overregulating the trucking business,” Kucharski explained. “Truckers are very excited because when Trump was talking about the economic plan, he brought up tariffs. And Trump is saying that he wants to bring more businesses, more production back into the U.S., which would be awesome.”
