WASHINGTON — Working-class voters helped Republicans make steady election gains this year and expanded a coalition that increasingly includes rank-and-file union members, a political shift spotlighting one of President-elect Donald Trump’s latest Cabinet picks: a GOP member of the U.S. House who has drawn labor support to be his labor secretary.

Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her bid for a second term this month, despite strong backing from union members, a key part of the Democratic base but gravitating in the Trump era toward a Republican Party usually allied with business interests.

“Lori’s strong support from both the Business and Labor communities will ensure that the Labor Department can unite Americans of all backgrounds behind our Agenda for unprecedented National Success — Making America Richer, Wealthier, Stronger and more Prosperous than ever before!” Trump said in a statement announcing his choice Friday night.

For decades, labor unions have sided with Democrats and been greeted largely with hostility by Republicans. But with Trump’s populist appeal, his working-class base saw a decent share of union rank-and-file voting for Republicans this year, even as major unions, including the AFL-CIO and the United Auto Workers, endorsed Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump sat down with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters leadership and members this year, and when he emerged from that meeting, he boasted that a chunk of union voters were backing him.

The Teamsters declined to endorse either Trump or Harris, although leader Sean O’Brien had a prominent speaking slot at the Republican convention.

Kara Deniz, a Teamsters spokesperson, told The Associated Press that O’Brien met with more than a dozen House Republicans this past week to lobby on behalf of Chavez-DeRemer. “Chavez-DeRemer would be an excellent choice for labor secretary and has his backing,” Deniz said.

The work of the Labor Department affects workers’ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employers’ rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities.

On Election Day, Trump deepened his support among voters without a college degree after running just slightly ahead of Democrat Joe Biden with noncollege voters in 2020. Trump made modest gains, earning a clear majority of this group, while only 4 in 10 supported Harris, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide.

About 18% of voters in this year’s election were from union households, with Harris winning a majority of the group. But Trump’s performance with labor kept him competitive and helped him win key states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Chavez-DeRemer was one of the few House Republicans to endorse the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act, which would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and add penalties for companies that violate workers’ rights.

The measure would weaken right-to-work laws that allow employees in more than half the states to avoid participating in or paying dues to unions that represent workers at their jobs.

Trump’s first term saw firmly pro-business policies from his appointees, including those on the National Labor Relations Board. Trump, a real estate developer and businessman before winning the presidency, generally backs policies that make it harder for workers to unionize.

During the campaign, Trump criticized union bosses and at one point suggested that UAW members should not pay their dues. His first administration did expand overtime eligibility rules, but a Trump-appointed judge has since struck down the Biden administration’s more generous overtime rules.

He has stacked his incoming administration with officials who worked on the Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025” blueprint, which includes a sharp swing away from Biden’s pro-union policies.

“Chavez-DeRemer’s record suggests she understands the value of policies that strengthen workers’ rights and economic security,” said Rebecca Dixon, president and CEO of the National Employment Law Project, which is backed by many of the country’s major labor unions.

“But the Trump administration’s agenda is fundamentally at odds with these principles, threatening to roll back workplace protections, undermine collective bargaining, and prioritize corporate profits over the needs of working people. This is where her true commitment to workers will be tested.”