For generations, there were two groups of voters that Democrats could count on to be firmly in their camp: working class Americans without college degrees and Black Americans. But recent polling shows that more Black voters are willing to give Republican candidates a chance.
A New York Times/Siena College poll shows that the share of likely Black voters backing the Democratic candidate for president has fallen to 78% – down from 90% in 2020.
Christopher Towler, a Cal State political science professor who created and directs the Black Voter Project, joined KNX News’ daily political show Countdown 2024. He said Black support for Trump has been overblown.
Listen here:
“Black men actually support Kamala Harris at greater rates than any other racial and ethnic group, gender, otherwise,” he said.
Still, he said Harris’ attempts to reach Black voters are “long overdue.”
“This is something that the party should be doing year in and year out because of the strong support that they receive from the Black community,” he said. “I think I'm more concerned about actually getting people off of their couch into the polls than really figuring out who they're going to vote for.”
Towler said there are several reasons why a small segment of Black voters are supporting Trump over Harris – some have always been Republicans, while others are attracted by his perceived business acumen and strength as a leader.
“There's also been talks of the young Black men really liking the effect of the stimulus check, even though there's a lot of misnomers as to how that check materialized and who was really behind the stimulus checks during COVID,” he said.
Towler also said we “can’t rule out sexism and misogyny” in considering Harris’ drooping support, although he said there’s little evidence to suggest that Black men are any less likely to back Harris than men of other races.
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Listen to the full episode above to hear from Matt Grossmann, director of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at Michigan State University, about the so-called “diploma divide.” Catch new episodes of Countdown 2024 live at 2:30 p.m. every weekday through Election Day.
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