Black voters are a key constituency for any candidate in presidential election campaigns. Christine Slaughter looks at what Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party need to do to mobilize Black voters, especially in the important swing states. She writes that the Harris campaign has brought Black voters a sense of renewed joy and optimism which had been lacking under President Joe Biden. By maintaining this optimism and focusing on the issues which are most important to Black voters – voting rights, police violence, student loans, and abortion – Harris can continue to these voters ahead of the November election.
The United States Presidential election is here. Early voting has begun in some states, with nearly two million ballots already cast as of last week, and voter registration deadlines are looming. Vice President Harris and her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz must move briskly and strategically to earn the support of Black voters, who she will need to win. Specifically, the campaign has focused on shoring up votes among Black voters in competitive states like Arizona, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Nevada. As much attention has been drawn to Harris’ identity as potentially the first Black and South Asian woman president, Black voters are concerned about her policy positions. So, what can Democrats and Harris do to mobilize Black voters in the same way as during Obama’s 2008 and 2012 presidential runs?
From Biden to Harris and Black voter support
Before President Joe Biden exited the race in mid-July, several polls showed that his support from Black voters was waning. Many factors led to this decline, and it’s difficult to tease out which was most consequential. Earlier signs, such as uncommitted votes in the primary election and Biden’s June debate performance, intensified the call to step aside within the party. Despite losing ground with Black voters since the beginning of his presidency, on average, Biden’s approval rating was highest among Black voters compared to Latinos and whites.
It’s different for Harris. The first two weeks of her campaign were a near-flawless rollout. Harris announced her candidacy and received historical levels of campaign contributions. Despite the high enthusiasm for the vice president, many Black people feel that the Democratic Party takes advantage of them. However, upwards of 90 percent of Black Americans support the Democrats, and a slight decline in support can have a large impact on the election’s outcome. It’s unlikely that Black voters will support Trump. Black voter support for Republican candidates has not exceeded 10 percent since George W. Bush in 2004 and has averaged six percent between Reagan’s presidency and Trump’s. What we know is that elections are won on turnout. If Black voters sit this one out for Harris and Walz, 2024 will be a repeat of 2016.
In such a short window, the Harris campaign has brought Black voters a renewed joy, optimism, and enthusiasm lacking under Biden despite the administration’s accomplishments. My research shows that optimism is potent for Black women in politics. This is where a lot goes on Harris’ shoulder. Her predecessor on the 2024 presidential ticket, Biden, delivered on most, but not all, of his ambitious agenda for Black Americans. She can do more. Harris can remind Black voters that what has been set in motion under Biden will continue with her.
Important issues for Black voters – gun violence, voting rights, policing, student loans, and abortion
Recent polling indicates a myriad of concerns from Black voters. Pre-election polls conducted by Black Insights Research show that 73 percent are enthusiastic about increased background checks for gun purchases, 68 percent favor national policy to expand voting rights, and 63 percent strongly favor policies to cancel student debt.
Gun violence has been a key issue for Harris since the early days of her twenty years in politics before becoming the lead of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Prevention. In numerous interviews, and even in the Presidential debate, she’s touted her gun ownership. Prominent gun violence prevention groups have quickly rallied behind her, giving her the credibility she needs to emphasize her plans to address this public health crisis.
“20230426_DNC_VPOTUS_NARAL Howard, Washin” (CC BY-NC 2.0) by democratic_flickr
Black voters want the full protection of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) restored. The VRA was weakened under the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in the Shelby County v. Holder case – which removed federal government oversight of previously discriminatory jurisdictions. A Georgia local board has already changed electoral rules that will impact the certification of the election results. Without the protections of the VRA, Black voters will face obstacles to electoral participation, like waiting in line to vote, shortened early voting periods, and voter registration purges.
Harris’s background as a prosecutor and district attorney gives her a unique perspective on policing. Here is where she has a tough road ahead to clarify her role in the criminal legal system. While Harris calls herself a “progressive prosecutor,” her critics on the left have pointed out how as San Francisco’s District Attorney, her support for anti-truancy policies and increased conviction for drug sellers disproportionately hurt Black people. At the same time, she implemented the Back on Track program to address first-time non-violent drug charges and went on the record in 2020 to voice her support for “defunding the police”. Still, voters want to know more. With a comprehensive plan for public safety, she can set the record straight on how she worked in the system to fight systemic injustice.
Four years after the 2020 racial reckoning, Black people remain victims of police violence. Recently Sonya Massey was killed by police in Illinois. While Biden signed an executive order for federal police agencies in May 2022, not all police are covered, and other proposed reforms have remained stalled in the Senate since then. While Harris called the Massey Family, they are owed more. Sonya Massey’s name reminds Black voters of the continued outrage over police violence, and how policing needs overhaul.
Black voters also want relief for student loans. Lower-income students and underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities have a greater reliance on them. So far, the Biden Administration has canceled billions in student loan debt. Harris can focus her higher education agenda on reducing debt for borrowers of color, an effective way to decrease wealth disparities between Black and white Americans and advance economic justice.
More than half of Black voters want a national policy to protect the right to abortion. Black women are uniquely impacted by Roe’s overturn. Harris has stood out as a champion for women’s reproductive rights and as a staunch supporter of women’s rights. This could not be further from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which calls for revoking approval of the abortion drug – mifepristone – and Donald Trump, who wants to “leave it up to states’ which won’t bode well for Black women in the Deep South. For Black women voters, she will need to be loud and clear about restoring Roe and expanding federal protections for reproductive care, not just abortion. We’ve seen this through the recent attention to the death of Amber Thurman in Georgia.
Black women’s optimism may be key to winning the election
Harris’ campaign has centered joy, optimism, and policies that move Americans forward, not backward. Optimism matters, but so too does a candidate’s platform, and the value placed on voting by the voter. Optimism is key for Black women’s engagement at the ballot box. However, in November, it will be clearer if optimism will place Vice President Harris back in the White House.