Some Black Voters Say They Wonder if a Black Woman Can Win

By Jeremy Peters

President Biden’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him on the Democratic ticket left some Black voters anxiously wondering whether Americans were ready to elect a Black woman to the nation’s highest office.

“It’s kind of sad, but I don’t think Harris will do well nationwide,” said Kristy Smith, 42, who is from Atlanta and works in sales.

As a Black woman herself, Ms. Smith said she thinks Ms. Harris is entering the race with two strikes against her. “America is just not ready for a woman president — especially not a Black woman president,” she said.

“As much as I would love to see Kamala become president, I just don’t think it’s going to happen,” Ms. Smith said, adding that Ms. Harris could lose some voters who were with Mr. Biden until he decided to drop out.

Don Johnson, a 65-year-old truck driver from Milwaukee, said he always supports Democrats and generally supports candidates who, like him, are Black. But he has his doubts about whether voters would back Ms. Harris.

“Even in 2024, America is not ready for a Black, female president,” he said, adding that he would support Ms. Harris. “I think she’s a pretty good politician but overall it boils down to race and gender. And America is going to hold that against her.”

Broadly speaking, Ms. Harris is well liked among Black voters, recent polls have shown, with large majorities approving of her job as vice president. The Biden campaign has deployed her where it believes her popularity is an asset, namely among younger voters and others concerned with abortion rights.

Some voters said in interviews on Sunday that Ms. Harris was battle-tested and ready.

Antoine Marshall, 37, was playing video games at home with his three daughters when a friend texted him about President Biden’s decision to leave the race and support Ms. Harris.

“I didn’t want him to run for a second term,” said Mr. Marshall, an attorney in Raleigh, N.C., before citing Mr. Biden’s pledge to be a transitional figure.

But the prospect of another Trump presidency and what it could mean for African Americans was among Mr. Marshall’s top concerns.

“The four years under Trump were bad, and I think people forget how bad they were,” said Mr. Marshall.

At the point when it had seemed that Mr. Biden’s candidacy was inevitable, Mr. Marshall had been on board, he said. He said those calling for Mr. Biden to drop out had not offered a path forward.

“I think a lot of people don’t realize the lift that it’s going to take to put somebody else at the top of the ticket,” Mr. Marshall said.

Now that Mr. Biden has stepped aside, he said, he believes Ms. Harris is the best option to step in. “I do like Kamala Harris, and I do think that she needs to be the nominee, not just for logistical purposes, but because of her track record,” Mr. Marshall said.

If the Democrats were to go with another nominee, he said, “I don’t know how you see it as anything other than a slap in the face of Black voters, Black women in particular.”

Mr. Johnson, the truck driver, said he did envision one scenario in which Americans would elect a Black woman. He said he had watched Mr. Trump’s political rise and concluded that his celebrity, more than anything else, gave him the edge he needed with voters.

So what Black woman could win? “Oprah Winfrey,” Mr. Johnson said.