Vice President Kamala Harris is seeing a surge of support from Black women voters, galvanized in part by her work on health care issues such as maternal mortality, reproductive rights, and gun control. This story also ran on . It can be .
The enthusiasm may be key for Democratic turnout at the polls in critical battleground states. Black women have always been among the most reliable voters in the Democratic base and were central to former President Barack Obama’s victories in 2008 and 2012. Enthusiasm was also robust for President Joe Biden in 2020.
But this year, before he bowed out of the race and Harris became the Democratic nominee, his support among this critical demographic had been fading, which could have dampened turnout in swing states. Black voters’ support for the top of the Democratic ticket has since increased. In July, before he left the race, 64% of Black voters supported Biden, according to the .
Seventy-seven percent of Black voters supported Harris in August. Black voter turnout, especially in rural areas of Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, could help propel Harris to victory. That support — especially among Black women — has swelled since Biden’s departure, polling shows.
“This is a renaissance,” said Holli Holliday, a lawyer in the Washington, D.C., area who is president of Sisters Lead Sisters Vote, a group that works to advance Black women’s political leadership.
“We’re partnering with a collective of Black women organizat.