Democrats are 'failing epically at reaching' Black male voters going into 2024: report
After the 2022 midterms, the Associated Press reported that Republican candidates had been "backed by 14 percent of Black voters" compared to 8 percent in 2018. Nonetheless, Black voters in the U.S. are still predominantly Democratic, making them crucial to that party.
But in a Washington Post report published on July 31, journalists Colby Itkowitz, Sabrina Rodriguez and Michael Scherer emphasize that Democratic Party strategists fear Black voter turnout will be insufficient in 2024 — especially among Black men.
"Biden's election in 2020 hinged on narrow victories in states like Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania that former President Donald Trump had won in 2016," the reporters explain. "Democratic activists are cautioning that the party can't afford to let support from Black voters slip."
One of the activists who is sounding the alarm is Black Male Voter Project founder J. Mondale Robinson. According to Robinson, Democrats aren't doing nearly enough to fire up voter turnout among African-American men.
Robinson told the Washington Post, "The Democratic Party has been failing epically at reaching this demographic of Black men — and that's sad to say. Black men are your second-most stable base overwhelmingly, and yet, you can't reach them in a way that makes your work easier."
Cedric L. Richmond, a senior adviser for the Democratic National Committee (DNC), told the Post that Democrats need to show Black male voters "why the political process matters and what we have accomplished that benefits them."
Itkowitz, Rodriguez and Scherer note that Democratic organizers interviewed by the Post are "less worried about Black women."
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"Black voter advocates say the challenge is particularly acute among Black men, many of whom say they feel alienated from the political process and were hurt by policies pushed by both parties that led to increased incarceration and a decline in manufacturing jobs decades ago," the journalists report. "Many say their lives haven't improved regardless of which party was in power, and are dispirited after the country elected Trump, life was upended by a global pandemic and violence worsened in urban areas."
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The Washington Post's full report is available at this link (subscription required).
