In a candid conversation, a group of Black male voters talked about why the 2024 election feels different
The sprint to win the White House is in full swing with both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump crisscrossing the Keystone State of Pennsylvania, feverishly trying to fire up their bases.
The one voting bloc both candidates are vying for in a race that could come down to razor-thin margins are Black male voters, who could make all the difference in who wins or loses this election.
CBS News Philadelphia sat down with a group of Black male voters to talk candidly about the presidential election.
Twenty-four-year-old Christopher McNeal voted for the first time in 2020. While he's also energized to vote in this election, he is concerned that some younger voters may not be.
"I really see that when you are speaking with younger people -- that being 18 to less than like 29 -- people tend to not be too involved in it because they think that it doesn't really involve them," he said.
The real estate agent is urging his peers to get out and vote.
"I think it's a lot about getting younger people to understand what are the things that are gonna affect us," McNeal said. "Might it be in this four-year term or how these things that we do decide on in this term affect us in the next maybe eight years down the line, 12 years down the line."
Stephen Pugh from Palmyra, New Jersey, said: "The best way I can explain it [the election], concerned."
Pugh, 52, has been voting since he became old enough to vote but is feeling a bit of election anxiety.
"I'm concerned," he said. "You know I remember a time -- I've been voting for approximately 30 years and voting was so simple," Pugh said. "You make your decision, you wait for the results. Either your person's gonna win or not win...fast forward to today."
He said he's uncomfortable with the harsh rhetoric and more politically divisive climate the country has seen in recent years.
"I'm hoping everyone realizes the importance -- whoever you vote for is whoever you vote for. But you need to know who you're voting for and why," Pugh said.
Recent polls have shown some reservation among Black male voters, but in a recent CBS News poll, 87% of likely Black voters would choose Harris over Trump.
Philadelphia is the most populous voting area in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Even former President Barack Obama made a blunt appeal to Black male voters at a campaign stop in Pittsburgh.
"I can't say that I'm seeing it in my community, but I do hear it," said Eugene Phillips from Germantown. "And in truth, I don't really understand it because when I think of Black men and the Black men that I know, I don't know of any Black man who can't look at, or doesn't have a strong Black woman who they are associated with either in their home or their community."
These avid voters will be heading to the polls without reservation on issues that they say matter most to them.
"I look at the war that's going on between Russia and Ukraine, I look at health care which is a big thing," said Brandon Stiff from Elkins Park. "I think economic issues are important. Starting a business or being able to improve upward mobility."
Sixty-six-year-old Eugene Golson said he'll be at the polls when they open on Election Day.
"I'll be number one," Golson said. "Actually my wife will be number one because... but I'll be number two that's our plan and that's always our plan to be first and second."
"I vote because I really feel that it is truly part of what makes me an active citizen in America. And also, I know that there have been so many things that the people who have come before me had to do in order for us to have and ensure the right to vote," Phillips said.
"The message is clear - Black men need to be more involved on a day-to-day basis in their local and national politics," he added.
