At the low point of the 2020 race for the Democratic nomination, President Joe Biden’s campaign has counted on black voters to provide a transformative spark. Heading into the summer for re-election, the president’s campaign is in full swing. Be sure to was once a political lifeline it stays in the corner.
The groundwork has been laid for months by the campaign management, which says that reaching out to black voters cannot be left until the last months of the campaign.
But on Friday, Biden began a series of public appearances that broadened his direct reach to black voters, highlighting his long history and ties to the community and reviving voters’ short and long-term memories. fulfilled the promises he made to them four years ago.
“When we fulfill America’s promise to all Americans, the nation changes for the better,” Biden said at a public commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision that ended racial discrimination in public schools.
Biden’s approach also comes with serious caveats about what would be at stake if Donald Trump returns to the White House, as the Republican on Friday said he was reviving “insidious” efforts to stop his rival from promoting equality and inclusion.
“My predecessor and his extreme MAGA friends are responsible for taking away other fundamental freedoms, from the freedom to vote to the freedom of choice. But I’ve always believed that America’s promise is big enough for anyone to succeed.”
Biden also planned to meet Friday with leaders of the so-called “Divine Nine,” a group of leading Black sororities and fraternities. On Sunday, he will deliver the commencement address Morehouse CollegeBefore heading to Detroit to address the NAACP’s Freedom Fund Dinner, a historically Black university.
This weekend’s back-to-back events in cities where black turnout will be critical to winning the two closest battleground states reflect the campaign’s belief that black voters can’t just be counted as a demographic turnout, but demand sustained participation. don’t convince
“You have to take your time. You have to show up,” Quentin Fulks, Biden’s primary campaign manager, said in an interview. “It’s just a continuation of doubling down and making sure we’re doing the work with the communities across the country that we’re supposed to be doing for us, and we’re not taking anything for granted.”
An NBC News poll points to a challenge ahead for Biden. Although Biden led Trump 71% to 13% among black voters April surveythe margin has shrunk from his 87-12 lead exit poll four years ago.
Of more concern to Biden, enthusiasm appears to be waning — 59% of black voters compared to 2024 elections, he said 74% of those who said the same four years ago at a similar point in the race.
Biden’s allies played down the concerns, though they emphasized the risks.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson told reporters Thursday after a meeting with Biden that the public poll proved unreliable, “I don’t accept the idea that there’s been any erosion of black support.”
“I believe that we are in a crisis of our democracy. We have to decide whether we want to have a functioning democracy that represents all citizens, or something less than that,” he added. “I hope the American public will understand the importance of our democracy.”
Biden’s expanded campaign comes ahead of a significant milestone – the fourth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder. As the 2020 general election begins, public protests, particularly from minority communities, have led to calls for criminal justice and police reforms, many of which Biden has embraced.
The White House declined to preview whether or how Biden might celebrate the anniversary this year. Biden continued to urge Congress to pass the George Floyd Fairness in Policing Act.
“No president in modern history has done more for Black America than Joe Biden,” Biden campaign spokesman Michael Tyler told reporters this week. “Of course there’s more work to be done, but we’ll take the record of fulfilling Joe Biden’s vision for the future of black America over Donald Trump’s record, his rhetoric and his plans any day of the week.”
Biden campaign officials point to traditional brick-and-mortar campaign efforts, including opening campaign offices in minority communities, with new technology-driven efforts to reach voters directly and communicate regularly with them. The campaign also says Biden conducted more interviews with Black media outlets and interviewers than any other media outlet, including with Atlanta radio host Big Tigger before Morehouse started.
That also means attending big festivals and local events — or ones designed for soft touches rather than hard sales, as the campaign did with its bingo or bowling nights in Wisconsin.
Most voter engagement with the campaign will come from an army of volunteers and organizers implementing a new strategy built on the power of personal relationships and networks. That’s especially critical at a time when many voters, including black voters, are reluctant or even resistant to the election, officials said.
“We believe that if you can go out and convince complete strangers, then we believe you can – and you’ll be the most effective person to convince everyone you know,” Fulks said, noting that this new approach is increasingly important. did fragmented media environment.
A volunteer organizer in Wisconsin, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, acknowledged this concern when speaking to a young black male voter who echoed what he described as conservative rhetoric on immigration. During their one-on-one conversation, “I think I was able to get to where he was thinking about his position.”
“Being able to influence it made me think it might be a voice down the road,” he said.