How Black voter turnout will shape Georgia governor's race: The Note
There are signs that Democrats in Georgia and elsewhere should be worried.
The TAKE with Averi Harper
Black voters are often referred to as the backbone of the Democratic Party -- and as high-stakes midterm elections approach, campaigns are working to ensure that this key voting bloc turns out in full force.
In Georgia, where some Democrats have expressed fears that the party's gubernatorial candidate, Stacey Abrams, has hit a slump with Black male voters, Abrams' campaign has invested in outreach to Black men and other untapped voters of color.
"What we know is that Black voters are not deciding between whether they're going to vote for me or for [Gov. Brian] Kemp.
They are deciding if they're going to vote for me or not vote," Abrams said on a call with Black journalists on Monday.
There are signs that Democrats, in Georgia and across the country, should be concerned about Black voter turnout. According to the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, 55% of Black voters said they intended to vote in comparison to 72% of white voters -- a result that advantages Republicans, whose support is strongest by far among white voters. Plus, Biden's strong approval with Black voters is at a career-low 31%, according to the same poll.
Research conducted by the NAACP and public opinion research firm HIT Strategies indicates that losing ground with Black men and Black millennials could become a stumbling block for Democrats.
"Young Black voters are extremely cynical, extremely frustrated, not just with Democrats, not just with Republicans, not even just with politics -- they are cynical towards institutions that they felt like have failed them.
At the top of that list is the Democratic Party. But they are not exclusive on that list," said Terrane Woodbury, CEO of HIT Strategies.
Abrams told reporters that her campaign has aimed, through targeted outreach, to "connect the dots" for Black voters about how her win could turn into policies that would benefit Georgians. It remains to be seen if that work will be enough to turn out the minority voters vital to her effort to unseat Kemp.
There are signs that Democrats, in Georgia's Stacey Abrams race against Brian Kemp and across the country, should be concerned about Black voter turnout
abcnews.go.com