By Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will launch a multi-state tour on Monday to promote economic opportunities for black Americans in an effort to mobilize a critical voter base for Democrats before of the November elections.
A key focus of the trip is to energize and engage black men, according to a White House official, a key demographic that polls show has lost some faith in the Democratic Party. Winning them back will likely determine whether the President Joe Biden returns to the White House.
A recent Wall Street Journal poll of seven swing states showed that more black men planned to support Republicans donald trump than Biden in the 2020 election rematch.
Harris will participate in a moderated conversation with Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings of Earn Your Leisure, who have used podcasts to increase financial literacy in communities of color.
The trip, which heads to Detroit next week, will focus on investing in communities, building wealth and ensuring that Americans of all colors have economic opportunity, according to the White House. It will also highlight the administration’s achievements, including a $158 million federal grant to Atlanta that will reconnect Black communities isolated by major highways with the city’s downtown.
Biden scored a surprise victory in Georgia in 2020, winning by less than 12,000 votes. The state also delivered two Democrats to the US Senate, which proved critical to the passage of Biden’s legislative agenda.
Democrats view Georgia as an uphill battle and any hope of taking back the state would require strong turnout from blacks, who make up 30% of the state’s population.
Monday will mark Harris’ third trip to Georgia in 2024 and 12th since taking office.
Harris has made more than 35 trips to 16 states since the beginning of the year, including a Black History Month tour of historically black colleges and universities and a March trip to Black Wall Street in Durham, North Carolina, to announce $32 millions to support historically. underserved entrepreneurs.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Diane Craft)
