Democrats typically fare well with black voters, but Harris is failing to inspire them and is poised to register the worst presidential election performance among this group in more than six decades.
The difference between Harris and Obama in this regard is dramatic. While Obama attracted the black vote by a margin of 85 points, Harris is up by only 54 points. When you look only at black men aged 18 to 45, the difference is even more apparent; Obama won this group by 81 points, while Harris is on track to take it by just a 41-point margin. This means that Harris could end up taking the lowest share of black votes sine the 1960 presidential election, when voters chose between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.
What is Harris doing to try to reverse this embarrassing situation? The latest part of her plan appears to focus on marijuana. It’s been a topic she’s faced multiple times throughout the years, perhaps most notably during the second Democratic presidential primary debate in 2019 when then-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard attacked her while discussing the problems with America’s criminal justice system and how it disproportionately affects black and brown people.
“Now, Sen. Harris says she’s proud of her record as a prosecutor and that she’ll be a prosecutor president. But I’m deeply concerned about this record. There are too many examples to cite, but she put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana,” Gabbard said.
This diatribe was considered by many to be the final nail in her fledgling campaign’s coffin that time around, and it is clear she’s now hoping the country will forget about her reputation as “Kamala the Cop.” To that end, she has promised to put an end to the federal prohibition on marijuana use and even help black men get ahead in the marijuana business.
According to her campaign, "[Harris] will also fight to ensure that as the national cannabis industry takes shape, Black men—who have, for years, been overpoliced for marijuana use—are able to access wealth and jobs in this new market."
Cryptocurrency and forgivable loans also factor into Harris' plan
This is apparently being extended to cryptocurrency legislation as well. Despite attacking crypto for facilitating drug trafficking over the years, she has now decided that positioning it as a method for black men to build wealth is the way to go. She announced this week that she’ll support cryptocurrency regulations that protect black men who invest and own cryptocurrency.
She has also announced that she’ll be providing a million loans of up to $20,000 to black entrepreneurs who want to start a business, and they will be fully forgivable. Of course, the campaign has not provided much insight into how one might go about proving they are black enough to qualify.
Her plan also includes job training programs and a health program that emphasizes diseases that are known to “disproportionately impact Black men.” Obama lauded the plan on X, saying it “will lift up Black men and their families.”
Republican pollster Frank Luntz explained to CNN why many black voters seem to favor Trump, noting: “They feel victimized by the federal government, they feel like they’re attacked or even persecuted for being Black men, and they believe that Donald Trump understands their plight more than Harris does.”
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