Maryland Governor Says Black Voters Are Not ‘Monolithic’

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore believes Democrats should do more to win votes from diverse Americans. In comments Sept. 6, he emphasized that black voters usually are not “monolithic.”

Moore shared his thoughts through the 2024 Texas Tribune Festival, saying that black voters were no guarantee for Democrats. Those concerns got here from a brand new New York Times/Siena poll that found Trump had a 10-point increase in support amongst black voters since September 2020.

“I think you have to win the support of every voter. And I think that’s especially true among black voters,” Moore told the news agency. “Black voters, and in our groups, are not a monolith. They’re not going to go with someone because of their political affiliation. They’re not going to go with someone because of what they look like. You have to win their support.”

Moore added that Democrats should address sensitive issues which might be particularly salient to black voters.

“I think it’s really important that we highlight the issues that are important to members of the Black community when we talk about things like access to jobs, wages and wealth,” the governor added.

Moore also noted within the discussion that black and other voters of color have to be inspired to vote. Building that enthusiasm could make a difference in elections.

“I think it’s really important that the way we engage voters is not to take them for granted,” he said. “I think there are a lot of voters who are up for grabs right now… This election is not going to be decided necessarily by where people go, in terms of Democrats versus Republicans or Republicans versus Democrats. This election is going to be decided by those who choose to vote and those who choose not to vote. And so I think there’s a lot of work to be done.”

On the opposite hand, the NAACP poll also included black voters in 12 priority states. I discovered that 78% of respondents felt “the same or more excited” about voting than they did during Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign in 2008.

But the gap in support for Harris stays. Among respondents, 79% of black women over 50 expressed support for the Democratic candidate, compared with 66% of black men in the identical age group.

Moore also touched on supporting women in leadership, stating that he “deeply” supports more women in elected office. He further explained that uplifting women in these roles mustn’t be tantamount to emasculating men.

“I am someone who also strongly supports supporting the development of women in elected leadership. I don’t think we should put ourselves in boxes on these issues,” he added. “When we think about ways to support our young boys as they grow into men, I think it’s important that we don’t dehumanize their development or emasculate them. Just because we can say, ‘We support women in leadership roles,’ doesn’t make us less masculine. Women saying, ‘We support men in leadership roles,’ doesn’t make them less feminine.”

As the election approaches, public attention is popping to black voters as each candidates fight to secure a majority of the vote.