Watch: Democratic pollster Terrance Woodbury debunks Harris’ plan for the economy

This week, “The Hill with April Ryan” sits down with Democratic pollster Terrance Woodbury, founding father of the research firm HIT Strategies and a surrogate for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.

Crunching the numbers makes it clear that Black Americans’ concerns about the economy transcend inflation. People wish to “cut costs” in other areas too. Woodbury notes that drug costs, similar to the price of insulin and student debt relief, are major problems with the Harris-Walz campaign. He added that Harris’ economic plan also goals to “increase Black wealth” and “close the wealth gap” between Black and white Americans.

Depending on the poll, the economy is either the top or second issue for voters this election cycle. A recent NAACP survey found that greater than half of black voters say the top priority for elected leaders must be protecting rights and freedoms (53%), in comparison with solving economic problems (40%) and other issues (7%).

In one other poll of greater than 200,000 Black voters conducted in 2023 and released in 2024, the biggest issue was the economy, with particular emphasis on low wages and never enough to support a family. Meanwhile, Pew Research reports that 81% of registered voters, or eight in 10, say the economy will probably be very essential to their votes in the 2024 presidential election.

Harris-Walz’s campaign agenda to create an “opportunity economy” also focuses on small businesses, that are a significant driver of the economy, and residential ownership. The variety of black homes is back to where it was in 1968 when the Fair Housing Act was passed. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has yet to articulate his economic agenda for Black America, though he has overseen a decline in Black unemployment numbers during his presidency.

Watch the entire discussion with Democratic pollster Terrance Woodbury above.

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