With less than two months before the 2024 election, Vice President Kamala Harris still has some work to do if she wants to win over key voting groups that are critical for her success.
Left-wing publication, Politico, pointed out “warning signs” of the Harris-Walz campaign among Black voters as concerns mount that the vice president won’t be able to muster up enough votes to secure a win. Black voter turnout has historically played a key role in determining the outcome of elections for Democrats. However, as noted by Politico, Harris’ support among the demographic appears to be declining.
The outlet pointed out that in 2020, about 90 percent of Black voters supported President Joe Biden. However, with Harris now in the running, a HIT Strategies and Hart Research survey found that just 63 percent of Black voters prefer Harris, compared to 13 percent who support former President Donald Trump. This comes after a NAACP released a poll revealing that one in four younger Black men have thrown their support behind the 45th president.
Though there is continuity in platform and campaign staff between President Joe Biden’s and now-Harris’ campaign, instead of a doom-and-gloom warning over lofty democratic ideals, Harris has emphasized a more practical message of freedom focused on economic opportunity and reproductive rights.
The network exit poll four years ago did show Black voters between the ages of 30 and 44 were twice as likely to support Trump (19 percent) as those 18 to 29 (10 percent), 45 to 60 (10 percent) or 60 and older (7 percent).
The gender gap is significant. Two-thirds of Black women (67 percent) back Harris, but among Black men under 50 Harris’ support plummets to 49 percent. Researchers caution the poll was conducted in early August — before both the Democratic convention and this week’s presidential debate — and say late-deciding voters may break for Harris.
Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison claimed that if Harris can get Black voter turnout in rural areas such as Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, it will be “the reason why Kamala Harris is going to be elected 47th president.”
This comes after Harris said she expects to “earn” the Black vote in November while speaking at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) this week— one month after Trump spoke to the same group.
“I’m working to earn the vote, not assuming I’m going to have it because I’m Black,” Harris said, calling “our young Black men … the backbone of our economy — and when they do better, we all do better.”