Black voters flock to Harris, undoing Trump’s strategy

But a new Washington Post-Ipsos poll of black Americans found that Vice President Kamala Harris has made serious inroads in winning over black voters, particularly among younger voters who were lukewarm to Biden’s one-time re-election bid.

The survey was conducted from August 23 to September 3.

Overall, 69 percent of black Americans said they were “absolutely sure they would vote” in the November election, up from 62 percent of black respondents who said in April they would be sure to vote in the fall .

Both numbers are still below the 74% of black Americans who, in June 2020, said they were sure they’d come out on top.

But there has been a notable movement toward Harris among young voters.

In the most recent poll, 77 percent of black voters ages 18 to 29 said they supported Harris, up from 59 percent of black voters in that age group, who in April indicated they would support Biden.

Overall, nearly 82 percent of black voters said they would “definitely” or “probably” support Harris, up from Biden’s 74 percent mark in April.

In 2020, black voters not only catapulted Biden to the Democratic presidential nomination, but handed him the White House as he won 92 percent of the black vote that fall. according to the Pew Research Center.

During that cycle, Biden — who campaigned on reducing student loan debt and fighting the coronavirus pandemic — easily won among Gen Z and millennial voters.

But this year, Biden has struggled with low enthusiasm among black voters, jeopardizing his chances in states like Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Trump, who has tried to win over black men by emphasizing economic and immigration concerns, has previously focused on this group given Biden’s polling problems.

Harris’ entry into the race dramatically changed that dynamic.

A graduate of the historically black Howard University and the first black and Indian-American vice president in US history, Harris mobilized black women across the country with her candidacy.

And Trump, who in July questioned Harris’ racial identity at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago, now finds himself with a smaller swath of black voters to appeal to his campaign.

Harris’ candidacy within weeks made Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina competitive for Democrats again, drawing back Democratic-leaning voters who were cool with Biden.

Trump is hoping economic concerns will bring more black voters to his campaign, but Harris has reduced the poll lead the former president has long held on the key issue, another dynamic that keeps this contest competitive.