SOUTH FLORIDA – Much has been made about Kamala Harris struggling to connect with black men, a key demographic for her to win the November 5th US presidential election against Republican and former president Donald Trump.
But two stalwarts of South Florida’s Jamaican community believe the US vice president will carry black voters unanimously in her bid to succeed president Joe Biden in the White House next January.
Kamala Harris and Marlon Hill (file photo) – Photo Credit: Dahlia Walker-Huntington
“We believe this issue of loss of ground with black men is way overstated in the media and WhatsApp universe. We are confident that Kamala will have the numbers needed to solidify her coalition. No candidate ever receives a 100% of any demographic group. From where we stand, we feel her support with black men, including Jamaican or Caribbean descent, is solid,” said attorney Marlon Hill.
He is a member of RallyforKamala.com, an organization that has lobbied mainly Caribbean-American voters to vote for Harris whose father is Jamaican. Her mother was a native of India.
Even though most polls show the election up for grabs, Hill is confident the 60 year-old Harris will defeat Trump.
“We expect her to be the one with more than 270 electoral votes and the next president-elect of the United States. Her blood is anointed with Jamaica and we expect nothing short of making history on Tuesday night,” he said.
Some polls show Harris lagging in support from black men compared to former president Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton and Biden in the last three elections.
This has prompted Obama to aggressively stump for her in battleground states of Michigan and Pennsylvania. In South Florida, longstanding Miramar commissioner Winston Barnes foresees broad support for Harris.
Winston Barnes, Kamala Harris
“Hopefully South Florida will make a difference in the election, especially considering it is home to so many Haitian-Americans and Puerto Ricans. That is as long as they vote in their own best interest, and if English-speaking Caribbean-Americans vote in their own best interest as well,” he noted.
Harris is the second major woman to run for president. She follows fellow Democrat Hilary Clinton, who lost to Trump in 2016.
She replaced Biden at the top of the ticket in July after his disastrous debate against Trump on CNN. Harris’ entry rejuvenated the Democrats’ flagging fortunes
Barnes believes there are similarities between Harris and Obama’s historic run in 2008.
“The commonality with the Obama campaign is how young people appear to have been energized, and that early voting, especially by African Americans, appears to have brought out voters who also supported Obama,” he said.
