Biden should keep expanding approach to Black voters, group of Democratic strategists says

(AP) Some top Democrats are worried that a dip in Black voter turnout, along with other challenges, could doom President Joe Biden and his party in 2024.

- Bill Barrow

A group of Democrats is offering a new analysis of the most recent campaigns in Georgia and Michigan, pitching those battlegrounds as models for drawing in more Black voters next year and beyond. They argue that Democratic power players need to think - and spend money in new ways, going beyond efforts that can be last-minute or superficial as they try to reassemble Biden's 2020 coalition.

"The days of the symbolic fish fry and onetime church visit are over," wrote the authors of the analysis by strategists widely credited for helping flip Georgia and Michigan to Biden. "Black voters have always required an approach to voter engagement as diverse as the Black voting coalition." Biden has long depended on Black voters - first as a Delaware senator and most notably in the 2020 South Carolina primary, which delivered him a decisive win that led much of the Democratic field to consolidate behind him. And his campaign says the president's reelection effort already reflects the priorities and approach advocated by the outside strategists.

"The campaign is designing comprehensive and robust programs in battleground states to mobilize and engage Black voters," said Michael Tyler, the campaign's communications director. He noted the campaign already is running targeted digital ads and building outreach programs in Black communities, months earlier than presidential campaigns typically have launched such efforts.

Yet just 50% of Black adults said they approve of Biden in a December poll by the Associated PressNORC Center for Public Affairs. That is compared with 86% in July 2021, with the gap fueling concerns about his reelection prospects.