Biden steps up efforts to reach voters of color

President Biden’s campaign is stepping up efforts to appeal to voters of color ahead of his November showdown with former President Donald Trump, amid signs that some Black and Latino voters are turning away from the Democratic Party. party.

President Biden’s campaign launched an ad last week that spoke directly to Black voters in battleground states, arguing that Trump’s reelection would be a “disaster” for them. The next day, his campaign announced a program to engage Latino voters, with Biden saying on the campaign trail in Arizona, “They’re the main reason I beat Donald Trump.”

Biden’s visit to Georgia and Michigan, Democratic strategist Michael Starr Hopkins said there has been a growing recognition in recent weeks in Arizona and Nevada that “we’re going to win in battleground states and areas with a lot of young voters of color.”

“The only way for Democrats to win is for black voters to show up to the polls,” Hopkins said.

Black voters overwhelmingly voted for Biden over Trump in 2020, with 92 percent voting for him. According to Pew research Analysis of previous cycles. Biden won 59% of the Hispanic vote, compared to 38% for Trump.

But as the race moves toward a rematch in 2024 and both sides target minority voters, there are signs that a growing share of voters of color are dissatisfied with their long-time loyal Democratic Party. .

“That’s a huge risk,” said Theodore Johnson, senior racial and electoral politics adviser at think tank New America, of the possibility that voters of color will turn away from Biden’s campaign in November. . “If they stayed home, the winner of the race would have the black people who were home to thank. My sense is that it would be Mr. Trump.”

Gallup poll released last month The Democratic Party’s lead among Black Americans has declined by 20 points over the past three years, and the Democratic Party’s lead among Hispanic adults is at its lowest since 2011.

a CBS News Poll Since late February, it has been found that support for Biden among black voters has declined from 87% in 2020 to 76% this year.a USA Today/Suffolk University Poll In January, Biden’s approval rating among black voters was found to be just 63%.

“There was a departure from the Republican Party, not because of Bush, but because of Barack Obama. And there is a return to the Republican Party, not because of Trump, but because Obama is no longer the front-runner.” said Johnson. “Welcome to the post-black president.”

Hopkins said many black voters are “more conservative than people expect or realize,” and there is some “consensus” on policy views despite Trump’s “derogatory” comments. He claimed that there was.

But Mr Johnson and his colleagues ignored the polls, insisting the results were more a measure of voter dissatisfaction than an indicator of what would happen in November.

“If you look at Democratic support on actual election day, you don’t see the same drop-off or decline in support from Democratic voters that you see based on whether people identify as Democrats or not,” executive Adrian said.・Mr. Shropshire said. Director of left-wing BlackPAC.

Black voters are “expressing expectations for the Democratic Party that the Democratic Party itself may not be able to address right now, but that doesn’t mean they’re changing their voting behavior,” Shropshire said. .

Polls also show that President Trump is gaining support among Latino voters despite his anti-immigrant stance.

a New York Times/Siena College Poll Earlier this month, a Pew Research project found Trump gaining support among targeted Latino voters. about 15% Percentage of voters in November.This is what black Americans will look like account for 14% Number of voters.of CBS News Poll It turns out that support for Biden among Hispanic voters has fallen from 65% in 2020 to 53% this year.

“I think what’s happening this time with Latino voters and black voters is similar in that people are feeling increasingly oppressed. If you’re feeling that way, you might think back to President Trump’s stimulus package or think, “Maybe things were better under Trump.” And the memories have faded,” says Melissa Michelson, a political science professor who specializes in Latino politics at California’s Menlo College.

President Trump has controversially said that immigrants “contaminate the blood of our nation,” and at a rally last week he made comments that some illegal immigrants are “not human beings.”

But many Latinos identify more strongly as “white, or something else, or just Americans,” and may not associate the former president’s rhetoric with them, he said. Michelson said.

Matt Barrett, one of Biden’s 2020 pollsters who continues to work with the DNC, stressed that current polling is not strong enough to support the theory that people of color are fleeing the party. and pointed out important issues in data collection. — something like “ignorance” in some polls that survey Hispanic voters only in English.

“There is no danger that a majority of Latino and Black voters will not vote for Biden,” Michelson said. Race. ”

In an election year when turnout is particularly important, a significant number of people just sitting around could be hit hard.

“Certainly, the Biden campaign should be concerned,” said Maria Cardona, a Democratic strategist who was part of Hillary Clinton’s Hispanic outreach team during the 2008 presidential campaign. “We should all be worried so we don’t take anything for granted. This campaign never will.”

“I really need you,” Biden told Latino voters in Phoenix this week, launching “Latinx Con Biden,” a series of events to engage, train and mobilize Latino voters. did.

Vice President Harris made her first trip to Puerto Rico under her administration on Friday. Puerto Ricans are the second largest Hispanic population living in the United States. According to Pew Research Center.

Meanwhile, Biden’s allies are ignoring his declining approval ratings among black voters as he paints another term for Trump as potentially dangerous for black Americans.

On the other side of the aisle, President Trump claimed in controversial remarks to the Black Conservative Coalition last month that his criminal charges had increased his support among black Americans. There has also been speculation that he will choose a black Republican as his running mate.

“Hispanics are very entrepreneurial. They like me and I like them,” Trump said. told Nigel Farage In an interview published last week. “No one has ever worked better with Hispanics and worked better with the black community than I have.”

Maca Casado, the Biden-Harris campaign’s Hispanic media director, and Jasmine Harris, the Black media director, told The Hill in a joint statement that the president’s re-election efforts this season will include “every single voter, of course.” I haven’t watched it,” he said.

“In 2020, Black and Hispanic voters put Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the White House, resulting in record low unemployment rates for Black and Latino businesses and historic declines in Black and Latino business growth. They started businesses at an unprecedented rate and canceled billions of dollars in student loan debt. They will do it again.” This completes the mission, and the Biden-Harris administration will do more to build on this effort. They will be given a grace period of four years,” they said.

Earlier this month in Atlanta, three political action committees representing Asian American, Black and Latino voters endorsed Biden, citing the interests of voters of color.

“I think this is a problem for the Democratic coalition in general, but an opportunity for the Biden coalition,” Terrence Woodberry, a Democratic strategist and founder of HIT Strategies, said of the recent polls.

“People of color don’t hate Joe Biden. They’re dissatisfied with the work he’s done and don’t think enough progress has been made,” Woodberry said. “I think this represents an opportunity for him to start fleshing out this campaign around continuing the progress he’s made or going back to the chaos of Donald Trump.”