The Melting Pot, April 2023: African American Voter Opinion

Global Strategy Group is excited to release the next installment of The Melting Pot: GSG’s Ongoing Look at Racial Politics in America.

This latest report, from GSG’s Mario Brossard, examines the Black generational divide while looking at the drivers of vote motivation, perceptions of the two parties, and the connection between the type of church someone attends and their likelihood of voting.

Key findings include:

  • Belief that there is Power associated with one’s vote is significantly correlated with a Black voter’s overall motivation to vote. And Black voters who trust political institutions or attend civically and politically active places of worship are more likely to feel their vote has power. And the more powerful they feel their vote is, the more motivated they are to show up. We should engage with these politically active churches early on, and in our messaging aim to increase trust in our political institutions, to increase both Vote Power and motivation.
  • The Democratic brand remains strong, but Republicans could make inroads with younger voters. By nearly 3-to-1, Black voters are favorable toward the Democratic Party; the reverse is true for Republicans. However, younger voters – both men and women – are more likely to approve of Republicans, suggesting that defection risk continues to be a real possibility and that younger Black women cannot be neglected.
  • While many Black voters choose to tune into conservative media, they are not persuaded by it. Nearly a third of Black voters use conservative media outlets like FOX News, NewsMax and OAN as one of their primary sources of news and information. Curiously, this does not seem to impact their political views, as they still heavily skew Democratic and remain largely favorable to President Biden and the party. This suggests right-leaning media sources may be an effective channel for communicating with a significant number of Black Democratic-leaning voters, while incidentally reaching moderate or swing white voters.

Read the report