Last week Kamala Harris launched her “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men” plan, as she hopes – just two weeks out from the election – to shore up support from this demographic. Evidence suggests that black voters are apathetic about Harris’s campaign, more so than they have been about the Democrats in recent years. This “Opportunity Agenda” includes offering forgivable loans to black entrepreneurs, increased influence over the future of the United States’ cannabis industry, and more apprenticeships.
This is a sound strategy for an election plagued by a cost of living crisis, where voters are motivated by the economy more than any other question. But it is even smarter than that. Harris is not just targeting the black electorate, she is specifically targeting men. Since 2012 the gap between how men and women vote has been widening. In fact, there is plenty of polling that suggests this gap is at a record high – and since 2012 it has been near or greater than 20 percentage points. In 2020 Trump won the male vote by 8 points, while Biden won women by 15 points. Not once since Jimmy Carter in 1976 have a majority of men voted for Democrats.
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