I have a small confession to make. It’s hard for me to imagine how the walking raggedy bastard that is Donald Trump can improve his standing among rational voters.
That makes me skeptical that the former president’s stock is somehow soaring among black voters. This bloc is dominated by registered Democrats and is a bloc that has gathered enthusiastic supporters of President Joe Biden in 2020. Several recent polls show my disbelief is misplaced, and Biden needs to do more to shore up support among Black and Latino voters in many states, including Nevada. There are many.
As a general rule, I avoid writing columns about public opinion polls. Because polls are outdated and look stupid. To me, without throwing in statistics generated during a snapshot in time months away from Election Day, conducted by a research organization that barely masks political motives before touting its findings. , you can do it yourself.
But for the purposes of today’s discussion, I read an article that obtained multiple polls in recent weeks that showed Mr. Trump had at least 20 percent support among black voters. After that, I put aside my general rules and tapped my forehead. fox news The survey found that it was 26%. If accurate, that’s much higher than the 8 percent or so he earned in 2020.
Unsurprisingly, these numbers generated some alarming headlines. During February, guardian After declaring that “Black and Hispanic voters are leaving the Democratic Party in droves, polls say,” he went on to accurately reflect the Gallup poll’s findings that “Democrats are losing among Black and Hispanic adults.” There is.
March, Axios “Black and Hispanic men can now vote Republican in greater numbers than at any time since the election of President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1950s,” he declared. As part of the analysis, a New York Times/Siena College poll was included, showing that despite President Trump’s repeated racist and bigoted comments about immigrants and people of color, Biden’s non-white voters The graph shows that the number of people is rapidly decreasing.
In that respect, nevada independent has been tracking the issue for weeks, telling readers that the Biden campaign is taking the soft poll numbers seriously, spending $25 million on advertising in battleground states. Inspire inflation-weary black and Hispanic voters and remind them that President Joe is in a corner and is sending energetic emissaries of color to the scene to get the point across. may require more than that.
The reasons for political malaise and discontent are many and complex. From inflation and immigration to high health care costs, threats to reproductive rights and the United States’ response to foreign wars, many issues keep Americans awake at night.
But Nevada’s Democratic Party, which elected and maintained an ethnically mixed state legislature with a majority of women, does not appear to be sitting on the sidelines of the heated debate. They are beginning to remind voters that Biden has their support, despite considerable obstacles and outright obstruction. And it helps to remember the financial situation when he arrived in the White House.
I’m not alone in my skepticism. People far more experienced in the history of black voting recently said: washington post Dan Baltz says that advantage is illusory. Cornell Belcher, Barack Obama’s pollster, called the possibility of a historic surge “ridiculous,” adding, “I’ve been doing large sample-size polls of black voters for four years, but… , Donald Trump never once exceeded 10 in those four years.” percent. “
It’s clear that Nevada Democrats are not taking any chances.
As an example, last week, state Sen. Dina Neal and NAACP Las Vegas President Quinton Sabwoa shared statistics and observations on Zoom hosted by Protect Our Care Nevada Secretary and State Representative Sandra Jauregui. Brought. Their statements shed light on the direction Nevada Democrats will take in the coming weeks.
This heralds the impact the Biden-Harris Administration’s Inflation Control Act (IRA) is having in lowering health insurance premiums and prescription drug costs for all Americans, especially historically marginalized constituencies. This is a memo that conveys the gist. The well-crafted “Protect Our Care” report highlights his seven substantive advances in health care affordability, reinforcing the administration’s “promises made, promises kept” theme. Reminds me.
For more background on IRAs, the Biden administration has released a detailed guidebook on its extensive plans. FactCheck.org’s number crunching tool also provides some interesting statistics from the Biden era.
Neal acknowledged that there is still much work to be done, but said, “The administration has been proactive in penetrating the health care system since Biden’s election. This will not be an easy challenge to overcome, but This is a challenge we must continue to move forward with and help communities realize the full impact of anti-inflation laws on the ground.”
IRAs are designed to control inflation, reduce the federal deficit, promote clean energy, lower prescription drug prices, and make health care more affordable. The fact that it exists at all is a small miracle in a deeply divided Congress.
For Sabwowar, the NAACP leader, the act “has a tangible impact on our lives.”
He told the audience: “So much of the political debate these days is about jokes and criticism, which only serves to disillusion voters and cause them to lose faith in our institutions and systems. At a time when we are challenged by misinformation, we need to promote policies with tangible results, like the Inflation Control Act. Every time we hear stories of families without accessible or affordable health care. If I had $1, I would be closer to retirement.”
The continuing challenge is to remind Nevadans of bold attempts to improve their lives at a time when they are grappling with political smog, rising gas prices and other impacts on household finances.
Let’s see if it works. I remain skeptical about these, as the voting numbers vary like a herd of quail and can be quickly forgotten as the campaign unfolds.
A few missteps and genuine concerns aside, the Nevada Democratic Party has an opportunity to remind allies and skeptics alike that things weren’t that bad under the old administration and would be even worse under the alternative. , there’s a lot to do.
John L. Smith is an author and longtime columnist. He was born in Henderson and his family’s Nevada roots date back to his 1881. His articles have appeared in Time, Reader’s Digest, Daily Beast, Reuters, Lula Light, Dessert His Companion, and more. He also provides weekly commentary on Nevada public radio station KNPR.
