Democratic strategist James Carville warned Sunday that the Democratic Party’s eroding numbers among young minority voters are “horrifying” heading into the presidential election.
“I’ve been very vocal about this,” the former Bill Clinton campaign strategist said on his “Carville’s Classroom” podcast. “It’s horrifying our numbers among younger voters, particularly younger blacks, younger latinos … younger people of color. Particularly males.”
“We’re not shedding them, they’re leaving in droves,” he added.
Last year, 66% of black adults leaned or identified as Democrat while 19% said they leaned or were Republican, according to a Gallup survey released in February.
The 47-percentage-point spread is the lowest in at least 25 years — and down 19 percentage points from 2020, when 77% of black adults identified as Democrats and just 11% identified as Republicans.
Similarly, the poll found 47% of Hispanics calling themselves Democrats and 35% identifying as Republican, whereas in 2021, 57% of Hispanics identified as Democrat and 26% said they were Republican.
Both demographics are key Democratic voting blocs, and like his party, President Biden has also been hemorrhaging support from black and Hispanic voters.
A USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll released in January showed the 81-year-old president’s support among black voters has declined to 63%, down from 87% in 2020.
The same survey found former President Donald Trump with an edge over Biden with voters under 35 (37%-33%) and Hispanic voters (39%-34%).
A March New York Times and Siena College poll showed Trump, 77, leading Biden 46% to 40% among self-described Hispanic voters, and having the support of 23% of black registered voters.
Carville argued that Democrats must convey that the “consequences” of electing Trump to another term White House will affect young black and Hispanic Americans “for the next 35 years” of their lives.
“We’re not going to convince under 30 under 35, ‘Oh, we really built a great country for you,’” he said. “You’re looking at this job market … I don’t think you’re going to buy that.”
“We need strong advocacy explaining to these youngsters what exactly they have at stake here,” Carville added.
“Forget birth control pills, forget reproductive rights, forget environmental protections. forget anything.”
