Hoffa Has Modest Lead in Election Tally

James P. Hoffa of Detroit pulled out to a modest lead in the Teamsters union presidential election as ballot counting by federally appointed officials began. With the 28,774 ballots from the union’s southern region tallied Thursday night, Hoffa had 50.04% of the vote. He was followed by Tom Leedham of Portland, Ore., with 46.24%, and John Metz of St. Louis, with 3.72%. Hoffa, son of legendary former Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa, has benefited from the backing of many local union officials. Leedham, head of the union’s warehouse division, was favored by a grass-roots reform coalition. Metz entered the race as a middle-of-the-road candidate but never mounted a serious campaign. In all, election officials said, more than 400,000 votes were cast, meaning that only 3 out of 10 members of the 1.4-million-member union in the U.S. and Canada participated in the monthlong election. Michael Cherkasky, the election officer overseeing the voting, said government vote counters would work through the weekend, counting by regions, and hoped to finish by Monday.