DETROIT, Aug 7 (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate

Kamala Harris clinched the United Auto Workers' endorsement last

week, but a tough task still lies ahead: earning the support of

its nearly 400,000 members.

Democrats have been energized by Harris' candidacy after

President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign following a

poor June debate. Polls show her with a small national lead over

Republican Donald Trump for the Nov. 5 election, but securing

UAW members' votes in the battleground state of Michigan could

be key in what is expected to be a tight race with the former

president.

Michigan households with a union member have been more

likely than those nationwide to vote for a Democrat in the last

three U.S. presidential elections, according to polling firm

Edison Research, and in the state they lean to Democrats more

than non-union households.

But Trump has tried to win over union members and other

blue-collar workers nationwide. The head of the International

Brotherhood of Teamsters, Sean O'Brien, gave a speech at the

Republican National Convention last month although the union has

yet to endorse a candidate.

Harris is expected to meet with union workers in Detroit on

Wednesday and hold a rally with UAW President Shawn Fain, who

has praised her record on fighting corporate price-gouging,

profiteering and unfair trade deals. Fain has also spoken highly

of Harris' vice-presidential pick, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

"We know whose side Kamala Harris is on and we know whose

side Donald Trump is on. Kamala Harris has stood with working

people, Donald Trump stands with the billionaire class and the

corporate class," Fain said Monday on a "Progressives for

Harris" fundraiser livestream.

In the 2020 presidential race, 62% of Michigan households

with a union member voted for Biden, helping him win the state.

By contrast, union households split 53% to 40% for Hillary

Clinton in 2016, when she narrowly lost the state and the

national race.

In presidential elections dating to at least 2008, UAW

member support has consistently exceeded 60% for the Democratic

candidate, and never surpassed 35% for the Republican ticket,

according to a union official. All signs indicate it will hold

for 2024, the official added.

"I see a lot of energy and re-engagement in the process"

among UAW Democrats since Harris launched her campaign, said

Todd Dunn, president of a large UAW local in Kentucky.

The UAW's executive board, not the larger membership, votes

to endorse a candidate. While the endorsement doesn't

necessarily guarantee support from rank-and-file UAW workers, it

is a shot in the arm for Harris' campaign.

"It signals that the UAW will apply its political resources

to support the candidate and those resources include not only

money, but voter mobilization efforts, where I think the UAW has

had a history of being an important player," said Marick

Masters, a Wayne State business professor who focuses on unions.

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokesman for the Harris campaign said thousands more auto

workers are employed now under the Biden-Harris administration's

leadership than under Trump, adding that "Donald Trump is lying

to workers to cover up his record of costing Michigan three auto

plant closures and thousands of auto jobs."

'AUTO WORKERS FOR TRUMP'

Chris Vitale, a UAW member for 30 years and employee at

Jeep-maker Stellantis ( STLA ), said the membership's support

for Trump is stronger than UAW leadership publicly acknowledges.

Vitale plans to support Trump, citing his record on trade

and tax issues that affect the auto industry. He has previously

backed Democrats, including former President Barack Obama.

"Auto Workers for Trump," a group that Vitale participates

in, will be holding a gathering on Wednesday near Harris'

Detroit rally.

"We've got two people to choose from... I'm throwing in with

the one who at least has a record of being interested in

manufacturing and preserving it in this country," Vitale said,

speaking of Trump.

Manufacturing employment in Michigan grew by 11,600 in the

first two years of Trump's term, according to U.S. Federal

Reserve data, but then tailed off prior to a sharp drop during

the COVID-19 pandemic. The state has gained 21,400 manufacturing

jobs since Biden took office.

THE EV QUESTION

Trump in the past has been outspoken against electric

vehicles and Biden's policies around them, warning that

consumers are being forced into battery-powered models.

However, he abruptly changed his tone after Tesla

CEO Elon Musk endorsed him. "I'm for electric cars. I have to be

because, you know, Elon endorsed me very strongly," Trump said

at a recent rally.

Some auto workers say they support both Trump and EVs.

"Electric vehicles, in a sense, are putting food on my table

right now," Vitale said, adding that he thinks the industry will

be hurt if EVs are pushed on drivers before the market is ready.

Elija-Blu Lampkin, who works in a Stellantis ( STLA ) stamping

facility near Detroit, wants to hear more from Harris about how

she will keep jobs in Michigan amid the transition to EVs.

Still, he said she already has his vote.

"There's no way that I can go the other way," Lampkin said.