For years, black men have been an integral part of the Democratic coalition.
In 2012, 87 percent of black men supported former President Barack Obama; In 2016, 82 percent supported former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; And in 2020, 79 percent support President Joe BidenAccording to NBC exit polls. This year, 70 percent said they support Vice President Kamala Harris, According to a recent New York Times/Sienna poll.
As these numbers make clear, the party overwhelmingly supports Democrats, but their loyalty has begun to decline, a shift that has extended over the past several campaigns. This anger has something to do with the candidates themselves, but also with voters’ long-standing disillusionment with the party. Despite being one of the Democrats’ most loyal voting blocs, some Black voters felt left out and adopted as campaign promises and change has been slow to materialize.
“People are frustrated with the Democrats,” said David Childs, professor of history and director of the Black Studies Program at Northern Kentucky University. “Many people feel disenfranchised. They don’t seem to have a voice.”
An additional twist is some evidence that Democrats’ shift to the left on social issues may also be a factor. Reviewing polling on respondents’ views on LGBTQ issues, Thomas Edsall of the New York Times Note that one survey of opinions expressed by black voters suggested that “certain aspects of Democratic liberal orthodoxy contribute to the exclusion of conservative minorities from the party.”
The erosion Democrats have seen can be attributed to any number of reasons. But broadly speaking, here are three theories that could explain why some black men are cool with this side of the cycle:
1) A sense of economic stagnation
Over the past four years, black Americans have faced the same economic challenges as everyone else while navigating Ethnic wealth And wage gap That means many black families think so Impact of rising costs and inflation more sharply than their white counterparts.
Although black unemployment reached an all-time low during the Biden administration, it is still there Twice as high as white unemployment. Likewise, when Black poverty rate hits record low in 2022That still means an all-time low About five in five black Americans were living in poverty, nearly twice as much The poverty rate of white Americans.
“In focus groups and conversations with party leaders, black men repeatedly said their material conditions have remained unchanged under Democratic and Republican presidential administrations,” The New York Times’ Maya King reports. And as spending has risen during the Biden administration — mostly due to inflation — the sense of stagnation has only become more apparent.
Such sentiments have prompted some voters to examine whether voting for an alternative option — such as Trump — might help produce a different outcome.
“Nothing has come to fruition. Visit schools, playgrounds, parks. Downtown is struggling. In our community, generally, we vote for Democrats. How did that pan out for us?” Ahmed Taylor, an undecided Michigan voter who previously voted for Biden, said. said Michael Brice-Sadler of the Washington Post.
Multiple Covid-19 aid packages during the Trump administration and at the start of the Biden administration helped some voters face economic pain from the pandemic. These include stimulus checks, small business funding and expansion of unemployment payments.
a number This payment, however, The Biden administration is running out of time as Republicans in Congress block passage of a succession of programs like the expanded child tax. This leaves voters dealing with both higher consumer prices and a drop-off in aid that could help soften the blow.
That’s because the first wave of stimulus checks were sent out during the Trump administration And also bears his nameSome voters are under the mistaken impression that he is only for them. The idea has caught on despite aid being passed by a Democratic House and a Republican Senate, and stimulus money being distributed during the Biden administration.
2) Resistance to the growing social liberalism of the Democratic Party
Another dynamic at play is a more conservative attitude among some black voters on social issues. In particular, as Democrats have moved leftward on LGBTQ rights—just over a decade ago, Obama was hesitant to support same-sex marriage — Some of these voters are fed up with the party’s current position.
This cycle, Republicans have stepped up their attacks on LGBTQ rights, especially those Targeting trans peopleAnd that could be Resonate with specific constituenciesincluding black man. In an attack ad on Harris that played during a football game, the Trump campaign went after her support for funding gender-affirming surgery for trans inmates — Some, it should be noted, were also given prison terms under Trump. “Oranges are for them/them; President Trump is for you,” the ad said.
Charlemagne Tha God, an influential media personality and host of syndicated radio shows The Breakfast Club, described the ad as “effective”.
Other voters cited Democrats’ support for gay rights as a problem. “That’s when I left the Democrats alone,” said a voter identified as Jay NPRNote that the legalization of same-sex marriage, a milestone made possible by the Supreme Court but celebrated by Democrats, was far from the party’s tipping point.
These socially conservative views may also extend to gender. When it comes to Harris’ candidacy, in particular, sexism may be a real issue for some voters, including black men.
“There are traditional values that still come out of many black homes around. Even though a lot of black men are raised by a mother, a matriarch, there’s this idea that women have a certain place in our society,” says Childs.
Cliff Albright, executive director of the Black Voters Matter Fund, notes that he’s heard the sentiment from a small percentage of voters he’s talked to: “You’ve got a percentage that will come out and tell you, like to your face: I don’t. “I think a woman should be president,” she said.
3) An election cycle is fraught with confusion
One problem that only exacerbates Democrats’ struggles is the rise of confusion, multiple experts say.
Childs notes that influencers on the right have hijacked the real concerns of black men — such as economic depression — to advance false messages about how Harris and Biden can’t do anything to help members of this group.
In one instance Charlemagne cited during a town hall with Harris this week, he cited a viral clip. An interview with Harris with The Grio That was taken out of context and therefore cut It sounds like he’s saying he won’t do anything special for black people.
These claims are often initiated by right-wing pundits or even Trump himself and amplified on social media by celebrities, podcasters and other prominent figures. D Singer Janet JacksonFor example, the recent high-profile lie that Trump told questioning Harris’ ethnicity.
Multiple surveys including one August NAACP Votefound a stark generational divide among black men, with voters under 50 far less likely to support Harris than those over 50. Albright believes this points to the influence of distraction on social media, as young voters are more likely to get news from these sources.
“It’s like a living creature, this confusion. It grows from a cell, and then it gets to the point where it takes on a life of its own and it just grows all kinds of tentacles,” Albright told Vox. “And … it’s touching millions of black voters.”
