September 9 :
Valdosta, GeorgiaIn the pivotal state of Georgia, Donald Trump ally Vivian Childs instructed a group of Republican strategists on how to appeal to Black voters. During a gathering of campaign officials and volunteers in the newly opened office of the former president in the rural city of Valdosta last month, the Black Baptist pastor emphasized the importance of focusing on Trump's economic policies, specifically illegal immigration and inflation.
She urged Republican voters to remind themselves of Trump's accomplishments and the positive transformation he has brought to the country. "We are the party of hope," she declares. "We are the party of truth." The stately office, adorned with white pillars and porches, exuded an air of pressing importance. Georgia, which Trump believed he had secured until Democratic candidate Kamala Harris emerged in July, is now a must-win state, according to Trump himself.
Despite early July surveys showing Trump leading Democratic Vice President Joe Biden by six percentage points, her late entry sparked a surge of popular fervor, and now the candidates are neck and neck in Georgia, according to opinion polls. The state's three-quarters Black population is the target of fierce political competition, and it has the highest proportion of Black voters among the seven states that will determine the president's fate on November 5.
Activists claim that Republican-backed voting restrictions make it tougher for Black citizens to vote, and Trump's racist comments and long history of supporting the Democratic Party further hinder his efforts to gain Black support. Republicans maintain they are not attempting to limit voting.
Childs, an advocate with the national "Black Americans for Trump" campaign, admitted that Harris's selection originally impacted the Georgia race. "There was a lot of excitement, absolutely," according to her. "She's Black and a woman."
The enthusiasm, she said, was dwindling. "We have got to stop dividing our country based on how we look," according to her. "I'm telling people to talk to Black people the same way they talk to white people: look at President Trump's resume, his policies, what he's done for all Americans." In order to have a feel for how both Trump and Harris were operating in the tight state where Trump was defeated by Biden by less than 12,000 votes in the 2020 election, Reuters met with thirty-two campaign executives, party chairs, local activist groups, and supporters.
The team saw significant potential in appealing to young Black men, according to a senior Trump campaign member who asked to remain anonymous in order to discuss private things. He claimed that these young guys had grown disillusioned with Democrats due to high costs and perceive better economic chances under the previous president.
Both camps are actively targeting Black voters, who have historically voted overwhelmingly for Democrats but who, according to polls, have been showing signs of support for Trump. They are reaching out to Black voters in a variety of ways, including at county fairs and churches, through social media and doorstep canvasses, and even on the radio.
"It has gotten really intense in Georgia," stated Essence Johnson, a Black woman who heads the Democratic Party in Cobb County, a sweeping region outside of Atlanta. Indeed, a schism formed at the Cobb County BBQ festival's Pig and Peaches event.
Prospective Democratic voters of color were given pamphlets outlining the party's plans to reduce medicine prices, assist historically Black colleges and institutions, and cancel student loans. Just a hundred yards away, in the Republican booth, you could find stacks of Spanish-language pamphlets and articles discussing topics like faith, economic opportunity, abortion, and inflation.
Republican county chair Salleigh Grubbs has been hosting house parties and door-to-door canvassing in predominantly Black neighborhoods, as well as coordinating events at schools in the county's more racially diverse southern region. "A lot of African Americans, Asians and Hispanics have these shared values," she added.
The demographic shifts that have made Georgia a swing state are on full display in Cobb County. This county, which voted for Biden in 2020 in Georgia, has gone from being mostly white and Republican to being 30% Black, 14% Hispanic, and 6% Asian. The Cobb County Democratic chair, Johnson, stated that things had changed drastically when Harris entered the race. For many of us, it's a reflection in the mirror," she remarked of Harris.
She said that a Black men's forum that was held just before Biden's reelection bid ended on July 21 had 14 attendees, but another one that was held just after Harris entered the race received 125. At county party meetings, sixty persons was considered a good turnout while Biden was the candidate; but, after Harris became the nominee, the turnout increased to 235.
With less than $3 million in ad buys under their belts, Trump's campaign felt cocky about winning Georgia before Biden bowed out. The campaign and an affiliated entity have spent over $30 million on advertising in the state since Harris' emergence, surpassing the expenditure of the Harris campaign up to August.
The political advertising tracking service AdImpact reports that both major parties have pledged to spend over $37 million in Georgia up to election day. According to Camilla J. Moore, chair of the Georgia Black Republican Council—which has backed Trump—commercial will be airing on Black radio stations in eight metro regions. The advertising will center on immigration, the economy, and the opposition to abortion.
The majority of Trump's campaign ads are critical of Harris, painting her as a dangerous leftist who is to blame for rising prices and the illegal immigration crisis. Janiyah Thomas, who was the Black media director for Trump's campaign, stated that the previous president had a history of empowering Black people.
"To every Black American struggling to make ends meet, our message is clear: vote for the candidate who has consistently delivered on promises," according to her. The Black unemployment rate hit a record low of 5.3% in August and September of 2019 under Trump's presidency. Even more precipitously, the rate dropped to 4.8% in 2023 while Biden was in office.
Taxes on the ultra-wealthy and big businesses to fund affordable housing, tax cuts for working parents, and lower prescription prices are the main issues of Harris's advertising.
A spokesman for Harris claimed that the campaign has been actively contacting Black Georgia voters "since day one." According to Porsha White, the campaign's state director, Vice President Harris is actively working to reduce costs for families, safeguard our freedoms, and ensure that every individual in Georgia has the opportunity to not only survive, but thrive.
According to exit surveys, Trump received approximately 11% of the Black vote in Georgia during the 2020 election. As per Emory University political science professor Andra Gillespie, he has a chance of winning the state if his proportion of the vote is even slightly higher in November. In a CNN poll taken in the final week of August, the race for governor in the state was 48–47 percent for Harris, with 10 percent of the Black vote going to Trump.
If Trump were to win Georgia, it would take some of the heat off of him to win Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, the three battleground states in the Midwest. However, by making offensive remarks about Harris, a woman of Black and South Asian descent, he runs the danger of turning off some votes. A number of Trump campaign rallies have focused on the vice president's race.
"God help our souls if Trump wins the election," said Demetrious Hall Sr., 62, a Black voter from Savannah who denounced Trump's racist statements and cast his ballot for Harris. Childs, a supporter of Trump's, downplayed the significance of those comments in an interview conducted following the volunteer meeting in Valdosta. Instead, she emphasized Trump's economic policies, which she said lowered Black unemployment, his support for historically Black colleges and universities, and his crackdown on illegal immigration.
After being asked how she handles voters who accuse Trump of being racist, Childs responded, "I say, 'Based on what?'" Because support from Black voters increased by 7 percentage points from their first match-up in 2018, Georgia's governor Brian Kemp demonstrated that a Republican can improve his share of the Black vote in 2022 when he defeated Stacey Abrams, a Black Democrat. Bobby Saparow, Kemp's former campaign manager, stated that the candidate prioritized gun rights and the economy.
According to Atlanta businessman Bruce LeVell, who is Black, Trump's message on economic issues spoke to people of color. According to LeVell, who accompanied Trump on his August visit to Atlanta to attend a roundtable discussion with Black business leaders, many Black men and even some women are carefully considering their spending habits.
Meanwhile, senior pastor B. Dwayne Hardin is also preaching conservatism at the Embassy church in Austell, which is located in southern Cobb County. Hardin warned his Black congregation during a recent service that began with an hour of upbeat gospel music that the United States is approaching socialism, that school indoctrination is rampant, and that the nation "is full of terrorists."
He emphasized the significance of supporting candidates that "shake things up." Hardin continued in his private office by saying that while he does not personally endorse Trump, he does believe that the candidate stands on the right side of issues like economic empowerment, school choice, and individual liberty..His message to his flock is simple: don't put your skin color above all else.
