Nearly eight in 10 black voters nationwide said they would vote for Ms Harris, the poll found, a marked increase from the 74 per cent of black voters who said they would support Mr Biden before he dropped out of the race in July.
But Mr Biden won 90 per cent of black voters to capture the White House by narrow margins in 2020, and the drop-off for Ms Harris, if it holds, is large enough to imperil her chances of winning key battleground states.
Democrats have been banking on a tidal wave of support from black voters, drawn by the chance to elect the first black female president and by revulsion towards former president Donald Trump, whose questioning of Ms Harris' racial identity, comments on "black jobs" and demonising of Haitian immigrants pushed his long history of racist attacks to the forefront of the campaign.
Ms Harris is no doubt on track to win an overwhelming majority of black voters, but Trump appears to be chipping away broadly at a longstanding Democratic advantage.
His campaign has relied on targeted advertising and sporadic outreach events to court African-American voters – especially black men – and has seen an uptick in support.
About 15 per cent of black likely voters said they planned to vote for the former president, according to the new poll, a six-point increase from four years ago.
Much of the erosion in support for Ms Harris is driven by a growing belief that Democrats, who have long celebrated black voters as the "backbone" of their party, have failed to deliver on their promises, the poll showed.
Some 40 per cent of African-American voters younger than 30 said the Republican Party was more likely to follow through on its campaign commitments than Democrats were.
"They sweep table scraps off the table like we are a trained dog and say, 'This is for you,'" Mr LaPage Drake, 63, of Cedar Hill, Texas, just outside Dallas, said of the Democratic Party. "And we clap like trained seals."
This story is from the October 14, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 14, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Team Singapore athletes at Paris Games honoured in Parliament
Olympians and Paralympians 'fought hard in the toughest of arenas', says minister
NTUC central committee unaware of capital reduction plan: Desmond Tan
The labour movement's central committee did not know of the plan to return $1.85 billion to shareholders under the Allianz-Income deal before it was mentioned in Parliament on Oct 14, said NTUC deputy secretary-general Desmond Tan.
MPs raise concerns over info sharing, investor confidence
16 MPs speak for four hours on Bill to halt Allianz's planned offer for Income Insurance
New in Oct BTO launch: 'White flats', additional subsidies
The Oct 16 Build-To-Order (BTO) launch will feature several changes that will affect home buyers, including a new way of classifying flats, more options for singles and new open-concept \"white flats\".
Talent, tourists, new hubs: John Lee lays out ambitious HK revival plan
Given the myriad priority areas, analysts wonder if his economic measures lack focus
Prime, Plus flats launched with 6% to 9% subsidy clawback clause
They are among 8,573 homes offered for sale under new flat classification system
Parliament passes Bill enabling Govt to block Allianz-Income deal
The minister in charge of Singapore's financial regulator will have powers to block deals involving insurers that are run or substantially owned by cooperatives after Parliament passed new laws on Oct 16.
K-pop boy band Riize's Seunghan leaves two days after return
SEOUL - Just two days after announcing that he was rejoining K-pop boy band Riize, South Korean singer Seunghan (right) said on Oct 14 that he is leaving the group.
Stefanie Sun's concert tour kicks off in 2025
The decade-long wait for fans of Stefanie Sun will be over soon.
Theatre actor Shahid Nasheer hailed as bright talent of his generation
Theatre actor Shahid Nasheer died on the evening of Oct 14 at Gleneagles Hospital, following complications while being treated for leukaemia. He was 28.