Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign is fighting to secure Nevada’s minority vote after President Joe Biden’s reelection bid leaked support among one of the battleground state’s critical Democratic voting blocs.
As Biden fought to win a second term in the White House, enthusiasm for the 81-year-old among key components of the Democratic coalition tanked. In the wake of Biden’s historic campaign exit, Harris’s ascension to the top of the Democratic ticket appears to be gaining traction with black Nevada voters disillusioned with the incumbent president.
Last weekend, the Harris campaign held a multitude of events in Nevada, garnering support that surpassed all of Biden’s previous efforts. Nevada is home to the third-highest-growing black population in the nation as of 2022. The vice president held more than 50 events, many aimed at attracting black and LGBT support, and reached nearly 50,000 voters, according to the Nevada Independent.
Nationwide, Harris’s approval rating among black voters surpasses Biden’s by 7 points, according to a recent poll from the Data for Progress.
Enthusiasm for a Harris presidency appears to be building in the battleground state as the vice president fights to make a comeback with voters who soured about Biden’s reelection bid. Some voters pointed to specific reasons they prefer Harris over her current boss.
For Lesile Swest, an African American voter who showed up at a Nevada Harris campaign event this week, the vice president’s perceived progressiveness stance lured her back to the party. Swest told the Nevada Independent that the black community is “looking for progressiveness,” adding, “We weren’t getting progressiveness from Biden or Trump.”
Seen by some as further to the left than Biden, Harris’s position on the Gaza conflict, if she were to push back against Israel more, could expand Democratic support, with Muslim Americans and many young voters disillusioned with Biden’s stance on the war.
Still, Harris faces challenges to prove that she is different than her boss and more inclined to follow through on her campaign promises.
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Stephone Revels Sr., an African American Nevadan, told the New York Times, “I’m looking for some direct, tangible assistance. You’ve got to stop talking and start acting.”
The battle in Nevada is far from over. Former President Donald Trump holds a narrow lead over Harris in the state and continues to make the pitch to majority-minority communities across the country that Democrats have failed them.
