Promise of Reshaped UAW Emerges as Challengers Surge in Election

Insurgent candidates looking to lead the United Auto Workers gained ground in races for key leadership positions, wielding deep-seated anger over the recent corruption scandal that led to a takeover of the union by the federal government.

The race for president will head to a runoff in January, with neither incumbent President Ray Curry nor his main challenger, Shawn Fain, netting a majority of the 103,000 votes cast. The top two candidates were separated by less than 1 percentage point with each at about 38% of the vote—a much tighter race than anyone expected.

Together, Fain and three other presidential ...