A recent poll of “non-Hispanic Black adults” conducted by The Washington Post through Ipsos found that support for President Joe Biden has waned among Black voters since the 2020 election.
Results showed that while nine out of 10 Black voters supported Biden in the election, just seven in 10 of the roughly 1,2000 people surveyed from April 21 through May 2 said they approved of his performance as we head towards the midterm elections in November.
Around 66% of Black voters said they believe Biden is sympathetic to the issues Black people face in the U.S., down from 74% in 2020. In that time, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit Black communities harder than others, movements to stop police brutality against Black Americans and push for criminal justice reform have continued and voting rights legislation failed to pass in Congress.
Although two Democrats narrowly won Georgia Senate seats shortly after Biden was elected, the party breakdown in Congress is still too close for Democratic issues to move fast in the chambers.
“Changes have been slow in coming,” said The Post, “particularly on issues that matter to Black Americans.”
For example, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act was supported by Biden passed in the House of Representatives, but failed the Senate. If passed, it would re-establish protections included in the Civil Rights era Voting Rights Act that have been eroded by conservative Supreme Court decisions, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
According to the poll, 46% of Black Americans were disappointed that the new voting rights act did not pass and another 15% were angry.
However, 60% of Black voters said they think Biden is keeping his major campaign promises and 84% said they did not blame him for the failure of the voting rights effort in the Senate.
Black voters may not blame Biden for the voting rights failure, but 76% said he has done little or nothing to reform the criminal justice system. At the same time, just 12% said Biden is doing things that are bad for Black Americans, compared to 49% who think he is doing good things and 37% who said neither.
In 2020, just 4% of Black voters said they thought former President Donald Trump was doing things that were good for Black Americans.
Younger Black voters are less likely than older Black voters to be supportive of the current president. Compared to 74% of voters who are 40 to 64 years old and 86% age 65 and older, just 60% of poll respondents who were 18 to 39 years old said they approve of Biden.
When it comes to Biden’s party, about 90% of Black voters said they would vote for the Democratic candidate in House elections this year.
Yet, fewer Black voters said they were even interested in voting this year.
Polls conducted in January and June of 2020 each showed more than 80% of Black voters planned to cast ballots. During this poll, just 64% said they were certain to vote. More people do tend to vote during presidential election years, according to the Fair Vote organization.
Black voters may overwhelmingly support the Democratic party over the Republican party, but around one quarter of poll respondents said the party is racist against Black Americans. Around three quarters said the Republican party is racist against Black Americans.
Some Black voters who spoke with The Washington Post also said they would like to see the Democratic party act more like Republicans when it comes to pushing their agenda.
“If you think about how the Republican Party always attacks, they attack together,” said Rikki Johnson. “The Democratic Party doesn’t attack like a fist, they attack like five fingers. They go in different directions.”
This year, some key Democratic initiatives have been derailed by Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sen. Krysten Sinema of Arizona, both Democrats.
“Black voters are particularly important to the president and the political party he leads,” said The Washington Post. In the 2020 election, Black voters helped Biden win Georgia – the first time a Democratic candidate won the state in nearly two decades.
Overall, the president’s approval rating among Black voters is still higher than the 42% of all Americans who said they approved of him in an April poll.
Looking towards the 2024 presidential election, a plurality of Black voters (43%) still said they would prefer Biden to be the Democratic candidate. Results showed that 29% would prefer current Vice President Kamala Harris, 7% would prefer Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, 2% picked Bernie Sanders and 1% picked former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Related
Related
