John Gage writes for the Washington Examiner about former Vice President Joe Biden’s ongoing attempt to salvage his presidential bid.
Joe Biden believes Democrats lost the 2016 presidential election because they did not campaign hard enough for black support.
“Every time they’ve run, whether it’s — take Carter or Clinton or Barack — they’ve had overwhelming support from the African American community,” the former vice president said in a Sunday interview with NBC’s Meet the Press host Chuck Todd. “They’ve had overwhelming support from minorities. I have overwhelming support.
“You can’t win — you can’t take it for granted. Last time we ran, it was basically taken for granted,” he continued. “I’m the only one who has the record and has the background and has the support. They know me. They know who I am.”
In 2016, over 4 million people who had voted for former President Barack Obama in 2012 skipped the election, and over a third of the voters who stayed home were black. Then-candidate Donald Trump pitched black voters with his line, “What the hell do you have to lose?” Ultimately, his campaign saw a 2% increase in black support from 2012 while Clinton’s was 5% lower than Obama’s support, according to exit polls.
Biden’s campaign has struggled during the first two primaries, which occurred in states where over 90% of the population was white. The Delaware Democrat has claimed black voters will flock to him as the primaries take a turn to more diverse states.
While Biden has polled better with black voters than any of his competitors, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has quickly chipped away at his support.
