Newsweek, July 2024
Former President Donald Trump received the support of no Black voters in a new Michigan survey. The WDIV/Detroit News poll found that the presidential race is a dead heat between Trump, the Republican nominee, and Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee—with each receiving 41 percent of support. Among the Black voters surveyed, 82.1 percent supported Harris, 11.5 percent backed independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and none supported Trump. The poll surveyed 600 likely Michigan voters between July 22 and 24 and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points. It is unclear how many Black people were included in the sample, but it is likely to be fewer than 100 people given that Black residents make up 14 percent of Michigan’s population.
Other polls have indicated that Trump’s gains among Black voters have eroded since President Joe Biden quit the presidential race on Sunday and quickly endorsed Harris—who is of Black and South Asian descent—to replace him at the top of the Democratic ticket. Biden had faced calls to drop out after a disastrous debate performance raised fresh questions about the 81-year-old’s age and ability to beat Trump, who survived an assassination attempt earlier this month, in November’s election. By Monday evening, Harris had secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to become her party’s nominee. If she is officially nominated at the Democratic National Convention in August, Harris would be the first woman of color to top a major party’s ticket.
