Vice President Kamala Harris, now on the presidential campaign trail, is making inroads with a key voting bloc: Black women, who are rallying behind her because of her work on issues such as preserving abortion access, curbing gun violence and reducing maternal deaths.
What has become clear is not just that this voting group supports her — but the intensity of that support. Eighty-two percent of Black women voters had a favorable view of Harris in August, according to the Pew Research Center, up from 67 percent who said the same in May.
Almost 70 percent of this demographic in August also said they were extremely or very motivated to vote, according to Pew, up from 51 percent before she announced her candidacy in July.
Jotaka Eaddy, a political strategist and founder of Win With Black Women, a network of Black women leaders, said the support is leading more younger Black women to register to vote. That could drive turnout and help Democrats. Some 16 million Black women are eligible to vote and 67 percent of them are registered, based on data from Higher Heights, a group focused on mobilizing and electing Black women.
Abortion, IVF: Harris has made abortion access a centerpiece of her presidential campaign. She recently said she would support changing Senate filibuster rules, lowering the threshold to advance a bill from 60 votes to a simple majority, for legislation to protect abortion access.
A number of issues Harris has worked on resonate with Black women voters, as well as women voters overall, Eaddy said, “particularly the issue of reproductive freedom, like IVF, and making decisions about our health care.”
Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as well as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump have vowed to protect in vitro fertilization. In August, Trump said he wants the federal government or insurers to pay for the treatments.
But Trump has struggled with his messaging on abortion, saying decisions about restrictions on the procedure should be left to the states.
Maternal mortality: Harris in 2021 issued a call to action to reduce high U.S. maternal mortality rates, building on her previous work. As a senator from California from 2017 to 2021, she co-sponsored a package of bills to boost maternal health, with a focus on Black women.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Black women are three times as likely to die of pregnancy-related complications as White women.
Trump in 2018 signed legislation to reduce the maternal mortality rate.
Guns: Harris’s work on reducing gun violence has also found traction with Black women. She is a gun owner but has said she wants to reinstate an assault weapons ban and supports safe storage laws and universal background checks.
Trump is a vocal supporter of gun rights. As president in 2017, he reversed a controversial Obama administration regulation making it harder for people with mental health issues to purchase guns.
Eighty-four percent of Black women favor Harris on gun reform over Trump, according to a 2024 poll conducted for the Highland Project, a women-led coalition focused on creating multigenerational wealth in Black communities.
This article is not available for syndication due to republishing restrictions. If you have questions about the availability of this or other content for republication, please contact [email protected].
Source : Kaiser Health News