A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll shows Vice President Kamala Harris gaining ground with a crucial part of the Democratic coalition: Black voters in battleground states.
USA TODAY reported Saturday that the survey shows Black voters favoring Harris over former President Donald Trump by a 7-to-1 margin in Michigan and by a similar margin in Pennsylvania.
Harris’ favorability rating has also climbed among Black voters in those key states.
Her favorability rating rose to 72% in Michigan as of last weekend, compared with 60% in June. In Pennsylvania, her favorability rating jumped to 68%, up from 55% in June.
The poll also found that Black voters in Michigan and Pennsylvania are more motivated to vote for Harris this fall.
In Pennsylvania, for example, 78% were very motivated to vote for Harris, according to the USA TODAY report. In June, just 61% were similarly motivated to vote for President Joe Biden.
Harris still needs to gain ground among young, low-income, and independent voters, David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, told USA TODAY.
The Pew Research Center previously found that 83% of Black registered voters side with Democrats.
Biden won a closely contested 2020 election in part by securing 92% of the Black vote.
Hillary Clinton received 91% of the Black vote in 2016.
The then-Biden campaign recognized the importance of Black voters to their ticket when they launched a “Black Voters for Biden-Harris” effort with a rally in late May.
Michigan and Pennsylvania are among just six true toss-up states, according to the Cook Political Report.
The others are Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Wisconsin.
Nationally, Harris holds a small, 1.8-point advantage over Trump in an amalgam of polls published by The Hill.
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