President Joe Biden made a stop in South Carolina on Monday to deliver his second major campaign speech of the new year. The president is emphasizing the high stakes of the upcoming presidential election, and seeking to bolster support among Black voters, a vital Democratic constituency that has shown waning enthusiasm for his candidacy in recent months. Although in 2020, 92% of Black voters supported Mr. Biden, a recent poll found that fewer than two-thirds intend to back him this November.
Many Democrats are concerned about Mr. Biden’s age and his presidency, which has been impacted by inflation and various international conflicts. However, the greater worry for Democrats is the possibility of growing disenchantment among Black voters with the party itself. There is a sense that years of loyalty to the party have not resulted in tangible better outcomes.
Joel Payne, a Democratic strategist, states, “In 2020, during the middle of a pandemic and the George Floyd protests, there was this feeling that all we had to do was show up and vote for Joe Biden. And in some parts of the Black voter coalition, they think they are not getting what was promised.”
It is an understatement to say that Black voters were instrumental in getting President Joe Biden elected. After a series of poor finishes, a landslide victory in South Carolina, where a majority of Democratic primary voters are Black, put him on a direct path to winning his party’s nomination. Nine months later, he secured the general election win against former President Donald Trump with 92% of the Black vote. Elected alongside him was the United States’ first Black vice president, Kamala Harris.
Mr. Biden acknowledged the critical role of Black voters in his presidency by stating, “I stand here today as your president because of you. And I’ve done my best to honor your trust.”