Democrats are blaming “misinformation” for President Biden’s loss of support among black voters. The White House is reportedly concerned about falling poll figures, and following a meager turnout in the South Carolina primaries on February 3, party officials said black voters must be better educated.
Turnout was just 4% in the Palmetto State, which analysts say is the state that turned Joe Biden’s fortunes around in the 2020 primaries when turnout was 16%.
Some commentators suggest, however, that the low turnout indicated that most voters believed that President Biden was running effectively uncontested and, therefore, there was no need for them to go out and vote. The President won the primary contest with 126,321 votes, or 96.2%. Marianne Williamson took just 2.1%, and Dean Phillips 1.7%.
In response to the perceived lack of enthusiasm, Christale Spain, South Carolina’s Democratic Party chair, said, “We needed to educate our voters and create a space for our candidates to come talk about their record.” Democrat officials in the state had organized an educational effort across 46 counties before the primary election. During the process, they said they found that large numbers of voters were unaware of Biden’s policies and “didn’t know what Democrats had to deliver.”
South Carolina Democrat Rep. James Clyburn claimed that despite the low turnout, Biden’s decisive victory proves that the President still has a solid black base. He said the 96% victory showed “that Joe Biden has not lost any support among African Americans.”
Nevertheless, some polls suggest otherwise. A New York Times/Siena College survey last November found that 22% of blacks across six battleground states said they intend to vote for President Trump – the highest figure for a Republican nominee in decades. The same poll showed 71% support for Biden, but this was down from over 90% in the early days of his Presidency. Trump’s support had increased from 8% in 2016. Polls additionally show that support for the former President is growing among Latino voters.
