Key issues facing voters in the 2024 general election
By Megan Sayles As election day draws near, Black voters face a pivotal moment, as candidates at national, state and local levels take distinct approaches to addressing critical issues, like health disparities, wealth gaps, reproductive rights, voter suppression and education. With a polarizing presidential race, tight races in Congress and contentious ballot measures, it becomes even more important for voters to identify the policies that enable them to thrive. The AFRO sat down with three leading, nonpartisan voter organizations that seek to empower the Black community to determine which issues are the most pressing. Hereâs what they said. Voting rights Voter roll
With Obama, ‘All the Smoke’ and ‘huddle-ups,’ Harris ramps up outreach to Black men
By Nnamdi Egwuonwu and Yamiche Alcindor Vice President Kamala Harrisâ campaign this week is launching its clearest effort yet to target Black men, announcing a new set of policy proposals, ramped-up programming and a media blitz â all designed to engage Black male voters as Republicans make a play for the typically Democratic constituency. âAs we approach the final stretch here, she wants to make sure that we are speaking directly to a constituency that has always been important for her, and thatâs Black men,â said Michael Tyler, the Harris-Walz campaignâs communications director. The vice president on Monday outlined her âOpportunity Agenda for
Why Harris Isnât Talking About Bidenâs Accomplishments
By Victoria Guida President Joe Biden launched a large-scale experiment during his first term, aimed at boosting American manufacturing, expanding green energy, and making the economy more resilient in the face of disruptions. His vice president isnât really running on it. Why? For starters, these are policies that take time, and voters donât give credit for what hasnât happened yet. Investment has surged in factory construction, but most of the jobs they could yield donât exist yet. A Taiwanese manufacturer has started making chips for Apple phones in the U.S., but progress on spurring domestic semiconductor production is still in its
Whitmer, Shapiro, Evers to launch battleground bus tour promoting Harris
By Julia Manchester The Democratic governors of the âblue wallâ states launched a bus tour Friday aimed at ginning up support for Vice President Harris in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The Driving Forward blue wall bus tour is set to kick off in partnership with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and her Fight Like Hell PAC, along with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D). âThereâs only one ticket in this race with an economic plan that puts middle class families first: Vice President Harris and Governor Tim Walz,â Whitmer said in a statement. âAnd Iâm hitting the road with my friends
âBlack men, we need youâ: Democrats offer star-studded push to juice Black voter turnout in Detroit
By Brakkton Booker Democrats are deploying prominent Black surrogates to Michigan to deliver an urgent plea: Black men, we need you. Itâs a concerted push, involving the likes of NBA hall-of-famer Magic Johnson, New York Attorney General Tish James, Democratic Party elder Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), Gen-Z Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) and actress Kerry Washington in Detroit, which is nearly 80 percent Black, and the surrounding area. And itâs the latest sign that the Kamala Harris campaign â and Democrats more broadly â see trouble on the horizon. Harris has built up a small advantage in Michigan, but soft turnout among Black voters could
Harris, Trump in virtual dead heat in major swing states
By Julia Manchester Vice President Harris and former President Trump are nearly tied in the major swing states that will play a deciding role in the election, according to polling released Thursday by The Hill and Emerson College Polling. Trump narrowly leads Harris, 49 percent to 48 percent, in each of Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, while in Arizona, he leads 49 percent to 47 percent. Trumpâs leads are within the surveyâs 3-point margin of error in those states. The two candidates are deadlocked at 49 percent in Michigan and Wisconsin, while Harris leads 48 percent to 47 percent in Nevada, within the
Vance and Walz rally in Arizona as early voting begins
By Mia McCarthy and Meredith Lee Hill Tim Walz and JD Vance are holding rival rallies in Arizona on Wednesday as the state kicks off early voting and the campaigns push to reach voters in the key battleground. Both candidates and their running mates are campaigning in Arizona, a state that President Joe Biden won in 2020 but former President Donald Trump took in 2016 in the tight race. The vice presidential candidatesâ visits will be followed by stops in the state later in the week by Vice President Kamala Harris, who will be in Phoenix on Friday, and Trump, who will
Group launches $4M initiative focused on Black men in battleground states
By Cheyanne Mcdaniels A new voter initiative focusing on Black men in battleground states launched Tuesday. The Collective PACâs Vote to Live campaign is a $4 million investment that will work to educate Black men on election access and provide free transportation with 100,000 rides to polls during early voting in Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. âWe launched Vote to Live knowing that Black men in the United States are not a monolith, and each and every Black man in this country deserves to make a choice and have it count,â said Quentin James, founder and president of
How the Supreme Court could reshape the 2024 race â again
By Josh Gerstein When the Supreme Court convenes Monday to open its new term, there will be 29 days until Election Day and one question on everybodyâs mind: Will the justices once again find themselves in the middle of the presidential race? Before the election, the high court could be called to resolve emergency disputes over ballot-access measures or vote-counting rules. After the election, any challenge to the outcome would likely end up with the justices. Either scenario would transform a term that so far looks sleepy into another politically explosive chapter for the court, which is controlled by a
Harris faces challenge with union voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania
By Alexander Bolton Vice President Harrisâs lack of traction with unionized blue-collar workers has emerged as one of her biggest challenges to winning key states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania, as polls show her significantly underperforming Joe Bidenâs performance with union workers in 2020. Harrisâs tenuous relationship with elements of organized labor is reflected by the decisions of the Teamsters and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) not to endorse her presidential campaign. She narrowly avoided disaster when President Biden helped avert a prolonged a port workers strike by brokering a tentative labor deal with the International Longshoremenâs Association and the