As they announced their re-election bid April 25 morning, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris drew early support from a broad swath of organizations representing minority communities.
“Since President Biden and Vice President Harris took office, they have achieved a record of important accomplishments for the Latino community,” tweeted Maria Teresa Kumar, president of Voto Latino. She touted Biden’s “meaningful gun reform” legislation, characterizing it as the most meaningful reform legislation in decades.
“He has stood up to racists, homophobes, and those who would tear this country apart to advance their ugly, authoritarian political agenda,” said Kumar. “This rising generation of Latinos holds enormous power in their hands, and Voto Latino is committed to ensuring that they can use it.”
Uphill Battle?
“When I ran for president four years ago, I said we are in a battle for the soul of America. And we still are,” said Biden in a video announcing his re-election bid.
“Every generation of Americans has faced a moment when they’ve had to defend democracy, stand up for our personal freedoms, and stand up for our right to vote and our civil rights,” Biden said in a news release. “This is ours. Let’s finish the job,” said the President.
But analysts predict an uphill battle to victory. 70% of Americans think Biden shouldn’t seek a second term — including 51% of Democrats, according to a new NBC News poll released April 23. Forty-eight percent of those who said he shouldn’t run again cited his age as a “major” reason.
Ageism
Shekar Narasimhan, founder and chairman of the AAPI Victory Fund, challenged the notion of age as a barrier to leadership. “Over 40% of Americans are 60+ years old and we celebrate medical advances that increase longevity. We also idolize geniuses like Warren Buffet (92), Charlie Munger (99) and Bill Gates (67),” he tweeted, adding: “I am all in for #BidenHarris2024.”
Black voters, who gave Biden a decisive win during the 2020 primaries, seem on the fence as to whether they will continue their support of Biden and Harris. The New York Amsterdam News reported April 25 that according to the results of a recent poll conducted by TheGrio and KFF, black people had a positive opinion of both Biden and Harris.
Black Voters
But, the poll also noted that 58% of respondents said they would prefer to see someone other than Biden running for the Democratic nomination. About 70% said they would throw their support behind Harris if she were to run.
Rep. James Clyburn, D-South Carolina, who turned Biden’s faltering campaign around with an endorsement in 2020, immediately threw his support behind the Biden-Harris re-election campaign.
“I can’t wait for Joe Biden to make his announcement so that we can get actively involved,” he said, before the announcement was made. “I plan to devote my time and energy the rest of this year and next year going into this election making sure that we get the type of turnout that we need.”
