Kamala Harris Rallies Black Support as Race Takes Campaign Foreground
(Bloomberg) -- Kamala Harris implored Black women “to organize and to mobilize” for her presidential campaign, underscoring the newfound prominence of race in a contest against a Republican nominee she said wants to roll back civil rights.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Trump Risks Losing Voters He Needs With Loaded Attacks on Harris
Wall Street’s Great Rotation Resurfaces After GDP: Markets Wrap
US Economy Grew Faster Than Expected Last Quarter on Firm Demand
The quick installation of the vice president has flummoxed Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers, who are struggling to define a candidate far younger and with far deeper connections to communities of color than the 81-year-old president she is replacing.
In the days since President Joe Biden stepped aside and named Harris as his preferred successor, prominent Black advocacy groups and Greek letter organizations have rushed to her aid, holding events and video calls to raise money and rally support for her candidacy.
The ready-built networks — particularly the millions of members of the Divine Nine, the nation’s most prominent African American fraternities and sororities — provided Harris with an instant base of support and organizing power. That helped her build a commanding delegate lead in the Democratic nominating contest.
“We know when we organize, mountains move, when we mobilize, nations change, and when we vote, we make history,” Harris said Wednesday in her address to Zeta Phi Beta sorority at their annual convention in Indianapolis.
The 2024 election pits Harris, the first woman, Black or Asian US vice president, against Trump, whose political brand is synonymous with grievance. The Republican launched his 2016 White House run by fueling the false claim that Barack Obama wasn’t born in the US and thus ineligible to be president, a theory widely condemned as racist.
Already, some Republicans have reverted to using familiar dog whistles against Harris. Representative Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican, in a social media post referred to Harris as a “DEI vice president,” the acronym for diversity, equality and inclusion.
The result is a dramatically new political environment, with race taking center stage.
“Our nation needs your leadership once again. In this moment, I believe we have a choice between two different visions for our nation, one focused on the future, the other focused on the past,” Harris said.
Senior Republicans — who have worked to make inroads with Black voters, who can play a decisive role in swing states like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania — have warned their allies to tread carefully.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said that he spoke to fellow Republicans and urged them to keep the election focused on policy contrasts and not personalities. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, in a Tuesday interview with NBC, called the “DEI” line of attack “stupid and dumb.”
“Do I wished I’d said it? No, but it was the truth,” Burchett said Wednesday on SiriusXM Radio, after the admonishments from GOP leaders.
Black Voters
Despite Harris being likely just the second Black major party presidential nominee in US history, polling suggests she has ground to make up with a community frustrated by soaring inflation and post-pandemic urban decay.
A NPR/PBS News/Marist poll conducted July 22 found that if the election were held that day, Harris would win 57% of Black voters, compared to 34% for Trump in a head-to-head match-up.
But Trump drew just 12% of Black voters in the 2020 election, in which Biden narrowly won key states. Overall, the poll showed the two candidates in a statistical dead-heat, with Trump at 46% compared to Harris at 45%.
Earlier: A Brief History of Kamala Harris and Her Politics: QuickTake
Harris, herself a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha from her time at Howard University, is expected to lean heavily on her roots. A Win With Black Women event over the weekend raised over $1.5 million for her campaign, while a similar video call with Black men drew over 50,000 attendees.
At some recent Harris events, young attendees of color spoke about how Harris could be an inspirational figure in the Oval Office.
“The fact that a woman would be in office, that would be a big step - and a black woman at that!” said Chaniya Young, 19, a North Carolina voter who will be casting her first presidential ballot this fall.
Many of Harris’ proponents argued early in the race that the party could not pass over the first Black, female vice president without angering key constituencies.
“Any attempt to step over the first woman of color vice president would be political suicide. They had no choice,” said Cornell Belcher, a former pollster for Obama.
The former president’s team still sees an opening to attract Black voters by arguing Harris should face criticism for Biden’s handling handling of the economy, particularly inflation, Trump campaign spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez said.
‘Obama Continuum’
Biden placed migration from Central America under Harris’ remit and Alvarez said the influx of migrants, particularly in cities with large African American populations, has disproportionately affected Black voters.
There’s also the possibility that Harris’ race could be a detriment to some swing voters — particularly in states with large White rural populations. In what may be a nod to those concerns, speculation around Harris’ running mate has focused largely on a group of White, male lawmakers.
“This is all within the Obama continuum. You do have a segment of the electorate that is older, less diverse and uneasy about the changes they see in this country,” Belcher said.
Still, Harris’ ties to the Divine Nine will gradually strengthen her bid by building pressure on disaffected Black men to get behind her, according to Chryl Laird, a political science professor at the University of Maryland.
“A lot of Black moms and aunts are really going to get on Black men and potentially diminish the defections,” Laird said.
Indeed, Alpha PAC, a Black male-led political action committee, endorsed Harris’ bid this week.
“We as a group of Black men aren’t going to be sidetracked by propaganda,” said Everett Ward, the group’s president. “We are going to do it like never before. And it’s not just barbershops. We will be in our communities.”
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.