On the Ballot in South Carolina: Biden’s Pitch to Black Voters
Feb 2, 2024
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Maya King, a politics reporter for The New York Times, discusses President Biden's campaign to reach black voters in South Carolina. Topics include black voter disillusionment, challenges faced by the Biden campaign, efforts to solve the black voter problem, countering arguments from black voters, and significant geopolitical developments involving Ukraine and Israeli settlers.
South Carolina has become a crucial testing ground for the Biden campaign's efforts to regain support among black voters and address concerns about his declining popularity.
Biden's declining support among black voters and Trump's historic increase in support among this demographic pose significant challenges for the Democratic Party in upcoming elections.
Deep dives
South Carolina as the Starting Point for Democratic Nomination
The podcast discusses how South Carolina has become the starting point for the Democratic presidential nomination process. It highlights how black voters in South Carolina played a crucial role in saving Biden's campaign in 2020 and how he sees them as a key part of his coalition. The episode points out that Democrats are concerned about Biden's declining support among black voters and how they are using South Carolina as a laboratory to understand and address this issue. They hope that insights gained here can be applied to other key swing states with large black communities.
Biden's Declining Support among Black Voters
The episode explores Biden's declining support among black voters and the potential impact on his re-election campaign. It mentions that while Biden won the election with about 87% of the black vote in 2020, polling shows his support among black voters has declined to around 71%. It also highlights how former President Trump has seen an increase in support among black voters, which would be historic for a Republican candidate. The episode discusses several reasons for this decline, including the perception that Biden made promises to black voters that he has not delivered on and concerns about his age and ability to relate to younger voters.
Efforts to Win Back Black Voters in South Carolina
The episode delves into the efforts of the Biden campaign and Democrats to win back black voters in South Carolina. It mentions the significant investment in staffing and resources in the state, including multiple visits from President Biden and Vice President Harris. The campaign is experimenting with messaging that focuses on promises made and kept, highlighting specific accomplishments such as relief for student loan debt and increased funding for historically black colleges and universities. However, the episode acknowledges the challenge of motivating voters in a largely uncontested primary and the need for the campaign to address more complex issues, such as concerns about Biden's age and foreign policy decisions.
The Democratic presidential nomination process begins tomorrow in South Carolina, and President Biden is running largely uncontested. But his campaign is expending significant resources in the race to try to reach a crucial part of his base: Black voters.
Maya King, a politics reporter at The Times, explains.
Guest: Maya King, a politics reporter for The New York Times.
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
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