Biden losing support of black Americans ahead of 2024 election

Democrats have long been able to count on minority support in federal elections. This may be changing in the lead up to 2024; polling shows that a growing number of voters of color are crossing the aisle and backing Republicans instead. While many black Americans enthusiastically threw their support behind Joe Biden in 2020, his failure to fulfill the promises he made has led to widespread disillusionment, resulting in fewer saying they'll vote the same in the next presidential election.

According to a recent poll conducted by the New York Times and Siena College, 71 percent of black voters said they'd support Biden in 2024, down from 92 percent in 2020. In contrast, Donald Trump's share of the black vote jumped from just 8 percent in 2020 to 22 percent.

When asked how sure they were of their vote, just 49 percent of black respondents said they would "definitely" cast their ballot for Biden, while 12 percent answered similarly for Trump. Over 20 percent of those who did not support Biden said there was "not really any chance" their minds would be changed by next year.

The majority of people of all races said that "economic issues such as jobs, taxes or the cost of living" were at the top of the list when it came to deciding who they would vote for, however, the number was slightly higher than average among black voters, at 65 percent. Just 2 percent said the American economy was "excellent," while 48 percent said it was "poor."

When asked about Biden himself, 56 percent of black voters agreed that he was "just too old to be an effective president," and 43 percent said he lacked "mental sharpness."

As the Wall Street Journal reports, both the Biden and Trump campaigns have been laser-focused on attracting black support, with the former starting outreach earlier in the campaign than usual.