Vice President Kamala Harris’ rise to the top of the Democratic ticket has reenergized black voters in the key swing states of Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Harris leads former President Trump 70% to 9% among black voters in Michigan and 70% to 11% among black voters in Pennsylvania, according to a Suffolk University/USA Today poll released Sunday.
The results show that Harris has regained some of the enthusiasm lost when President Biden was at the top of the ticket, with the Suffolk University/USA Today poll in June finding that Biden led Trump by just 54% to 15% among black voters in Michigan and 56% to 11% among black voters in Pennsylvania.
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Vice President Harris and former President Trump (Getty Images)
“There’s no doubt that Harris, at the top of the ticket, has generated an immediate surge in support at the expense of all other candidates and categories,” David Paleologos, director of the Center for Political Research at Suffolk University, said in a press release about the new poll. “She’s well on her way to unifying the black community, even if she hasn’t yet reached the black electoral margins she needs to win states like Michigan and Pennsylvania.”
Biden’s slump among black voters, a crucial demographic for Democrats, was a particular concern for the party in the weeks leading up to his decision to withdraw from the race. According to 2020 exit polls, Biden won 92% of the vote among black voters to 7% in Michigan and Pennsylvania, two key swing states that could determine the outcome of the election.
Former President Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on August 17, 2024. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
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Black voters in both states were asked whether they felt Harris represented them. Sixty-one percent of black voters in Michigan said she represented “people like me,” while 27 percent said she did not represent black voters. In Pennsylvania, 58 percent of black voters said Harris represented people like them, while 30 percent said she did not.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Hendrick Center for Automotive Excellence in Raleigh, North Carolina, on August 16, 2024. (Allison Joyce/AFP via Getty Images)
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The Suffolk University/USA Today poll was conducted between August 11 and 14 among 500 black voters in both states. The poll’s margin of error was plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
