Hoffa Gains in Teamsters Tally

James P. Hoffa expanded his lead over rival Tom Leedham in the Teamsters union presidential election Friday as ballot counting moved into eastern states expected to be friendly to Leedham. In the second day of counting by federal election authorities, with one-quarter of the approximately 400,000 ballots tallied, Hoffa was leading with 53.4% of the vote. Leedham, a Teamsters leader from Portland, Ore., was second, at 40.6%, followed by John Metz of St. Louis, at 6%. Hoffa--son of the late James R. Hoffa, the notorious Teamsters leader who ran the union in the 1950s and 1960s--has been considered the front-runner largely because he has the most endorsements from other Teamsters officials.