By Emmanuel Nduka
After gaining her party’s endorsement for a likely Democratic nomination, the candidacy of US Vice President Kamala Harris is generating mixed feelings from the Black community.
Heritage Times HT reports that in the event of a faceoff between Donald Trump and Kamala, the vote of Black citizens will be important.
“I know there would be historical implications for having a black female president, the first female president, well, she wouldn’t be the first black president, but the first female president, there would be historical implications. But my strongest emotions for the election are just being anti-Donald J. Trump. Yes. That’s the biggest thing for me. Just not him.”
To win the November 5th election, Harris will need to court voters beyond an anti-trump sentiment.
It would be recalled that Black voters helped power Biden to victory in the last Democratic primary and presidential poll.
An AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll fielded prior to Biden’s announcement Sunday found about 6 in 10 Democrats believe Harris would do well as president. More broadly, among all adults, the poll showed skepticism of Harris, with only 3 in 10 Americans saying she would do well as president.
But Blacks were more likely to see Harris in a positive light.
Many Democrats followed Biden’s lead in expressing their support for Harris. The Congressional Black Caucus said it “fully backs” the vice president.
Johnny Bester, a 37-year-old from Atlanta who was riding a scooter alongside Diggs in Piedmont Park, said he was “not loyal to any brand” of politics. He said Biden should have dropped out long ago and that he wasn’t a fan of the president’s endorsement of Harris.
“The endorsement that I saw with Kamala – I’m not a fan of that as well. I feel like a lot of us forgot that she was even in the office because she hasn’t been too vocal or she hasn’t been too visible”.
59-year-old Harris who is of Jamaican and Indian descent will seek to energize Black and Asian voters.
