Kamala Harris Gets Lackluster Support Among Black Voters in New Poll

Kamala Harris has substantially lower support amongst Black voters than Joe Biden achieved at the 2020 presidential election, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll.
According to the survey of Black voters, 78 percent plan to vote for Harris in November, whilst 15 percent support Republican nominee Donald Trump. Harris’s support is up on the 74 percent of Black voters who said they planned to support Biden before he dropped out of the race in July, but substantially down on the 90 percent he received when he beat Trump in 2020. If elected, Kamala Harris would be the first Black woman to hold the White House and only the second Black person overall.
Recent polling suggests the 2024 presidential contest is on a knife edge, with election analysis website FiveThirtyEight giving Harris a 53 percent chance of victory, against 47 percent for Trump. Surveys suggest Harris is struggling to match Biden’s 2020 appeal with non-white voters, with a Newsweek analysis of recent polling finding she has the support of 56 percent of Hispanic voters, down from Biden’s 59 percent four years ago.
The New York Times/Siena College survey found a significant gender gap among Black voters, with Harris having a notable advantage with female Black voters. Of those polled, 83 percent of Black women said they would back the current vice president versus 12 percent for Trump, against 70 percent of Black men for Harris compared to 20 percent for the GOP candidate. The survey of 589 Black likely voters was conducted between September 29 and October 5, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 points.
Overall, the poll found 82 percent of Black voters had a favorable view of Harris whilst just 15 percent had an unfavorable view of the Democratic candidate. By contrast, only 17 percent of Black voters viewed Trump favorably, against 80 percent who saw him unfavorable.
Asked which candidate “cares about people like you,” 81 percent of Black voters answered Harris, whilst eight percent said Trump. Another six percent said neither, two percent said both and three percent said they didn’t know or refused to answer the question.
Newsweek contacted the Kamala Harris and Donald Trump presidential election campaigns for comment by email on Saturday outside of regular office hours.
Barack Obama made a direct appeal to Black men during a Pittsburgh campaign visit on Thursday, urging them to support Harris.
He said: “My understanding, based on reports I’m getting from campaigns and communities, is that we have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running.”
Obama added this apparent lack of enthusiasm “seems to be more pronounced with the brothers,” before adding: “Part of it makes me think—and I’m speaking to men directly— part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that.
“So now you’re thinking about sitting out or even supporting somebody who has a history of degrading you? Because you think that’s a sign of strength? Because that’s what being a man is, putting women down? That’s not acceptable.”
However, Obama’s comments were rejected by former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner during a CNN appearance later that day. Turner asked: “Why are Black men being belittled in ways that no other voting group [is]?
“Now, a lot of love for former President Obama, but for him to single out Black men is wrong.”