(Bloomberg) -- Vice President Kamala Harris is ramping up her outreach to Black men, pledging to provide outlets for economic security, as polls show Donald Trump is gaining support among Black voters.
Harris on Monday proposed a new program for Black entrepreneurs, and others who have faced barriers to accessing financing, to provide loans to those starting businesses. The plan would provide 1 million loans that are fully forgivable up to $20,000, according to a campaign outline about Harris’ efforts to reach Black male voters.
The Democratic nominee also pledged to support a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency, to give more investment certainty to the 20% of Black Americans who own — or have owned — digital assets. She vowed to work with Congress to legalize recreational marijuana and make sure Black men are able to create businesses and access jobs in a burgeoning cannabis industry.
The vice president is also proposing to increase pathways for apprenticeship and job opportunities, as well as invest in health-care programs that serve predominantly Black communities.
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Harris, who would be the first Black and Asian woman to serve as president, is ramping up her attention on shoring up support among Black men as Trump is cutting into Democrats’ support among a key voting bloc. About 15% of Black likely voters indicated they planned to vote for Trump in this election, an uptick of 6 percentage points from 2020, according to a New York Times-Siena College poll published Oct. 12.
Trump has actively sought to court Black voters, particularly men, as he seeks to make up losses with women whom he’s alienated with his rhetoric and policies. His campaign has held get-out-the-vote efforts and funded advertising campaigns aimed to pull away a segment of Black voters in what is shaping up to be an extremely close election.
Harris’ allies have expressed worries that Trump’s inroads with Black voters could be troubling for her prospects in battleground states.
“Yes, I am concerned about the Black men staying home or voting for Trump,” Representative Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat, told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “But my concerns don’t tend to keep me from being energetic about this campaign.”
Harris is polling better among Black voters than President Joe Biden did before he dropped out of the race in July. Still, the tight margins have Democrats concerned that even losing a small share of the Black vote could be fatal to Harris’ bid.
Harris intends to build an economy “where Black men are equipped with the tools to thrive: to buy a home, provide for our families, start a business and build wealth,” said former Representative Cedric Richmond, a Louisiana Democrat and co-chair of the Harris-Walz campaign. “Donald Trump could care less about equipping hardworking Americans with the tools needed to get ahead.”
Harris’ plan to highlight her policies for Black men comes just days after former President Barack Obama at a campaign stop chastised men for “coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses” to not vote for Harris.
“I’ve got a problem with that,” Obama said Oct. 10. “Because part of it makes me think — and I’m speaking to men directly — part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that.”
Harris’ campaign announced a series of events in the coming days to reach Black men, including NFL and NCAA watch parties at Black-owned bars in swing states. Harris will also participate in a town hall Tuesday in Detroit with Charlamagne tha God, a radio host with a large Black audience.
--With assistance from Victoria Cavaliere.
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