Biden-Harris campaign to boost diversity outreach with expanded campaign
On the heels of the Democratic National Convention, the Biden-Harris campaign is launching national programming targeting a specific constituency in a different battleground state each day this week, as part of its efforts to grow its diverse coalition, according to a campaign official. Vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris is expected to make her earliest official solo campaign appearances in at least two events focused on this effort.
"We will be reaching out to Black, Latino, AAPI, young voters and many more, in cities across America to hear firsthand their concerns and lay out Joe Biden and Kamala Harris's vision for a stronger, resilient, and more inclusive economy," said Biden-Harris national coalitions director Ashley Allison.
The initiative kicks off with a virtual event Monday in North Carolina, the site of the GOP opening session. It is geared toward young voters and features Biden senior adviser Symone Sanders and actress Ashley De La Rosa. Actor Darren Criss, of "Glee" fame, headlines an Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) gathering in Las Vegas Tuesday.
Harris, a California senator who is the first Black and South Asian woman to be a major party's vice presidential nominee, will appear at an organizing event with African-American women Wednesday, followed by a "Shop Talk" session Thursday for African-American men led by political commentator Bakari Sellers and entertainment host Terrence J.
She is also slated to attend a virtual event for Latinos in Miami Saturday, dubbed "Nuestros Negocios, Nuestro Futuro" (Our Business, Our Future). Her husband, Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish, will join "Believers for Biden" Friday in Florida.
Democratic leaders point to the diversity showcased at their convention as a sign of the party's strength and unity. Republicans will also be highlighting diversity at their convention this week, featuring South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, the Senate's only Black Republican and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, the first female Indian-American governor elected in the U.S. The Trump campaign has also announced more than a dozen new coalitions, ranging from "Indians for Trump" to "Italian-Americans for Trump."
"All across America, diverse groups are coming together to support President Trump and his promise of economic empowerment, personal liberty and the American Dream," said Ashley Hayek, Trump 2020 director of coalitions.
The expanded diversity outreach is targeting voting blocs that are already solidly in the Democratic camp, but the effort reinforces the persistent Democratic convention message urging Americans to turn out in high numbers and vote, especially in a year in which the barriers to voting seem higher than usual, amid the pandemic. Much of the nation is expected to vote by mail, and President Trump frequently claims without evidence that mail voting is rife with fraud. His campaign and Republicans have begun suing states over mail voting.
CBS News' Battleground Tracker polling shows Joe Biden leading President Trump among Black voters 90% to 6%, and he also holds a sizable lead among Hispanic voters. Both voting blocs could be crucial to Democrats' chances of flipping battlegrounds that President Trump won in 2016.
The coalition strategy capitalizes on earlier investments by the Biden campaign to woo key demographic groups. This month it reserved a record $280 million dollar ad buy for the fall general election.
