Devendra Kumar
As election season heats up, Orlando Owens, a rare Republican activist in a majority-Black district of Milwaukee, is holding out hope that this will be a different year. Despite national polls showing waning enthusiasm for Democratic President Joe Biden, especially among Black voters who are frustrated with his performance on the economy and other issues, state Republican party officials and activists saw an opening. Wisconsin holds its primary on Tuesday, where voters will weigh in on the presidential race, weeks after Mr. Biden and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump clinched their respective nominations.
The Republican effort to win over Black voters began in 2020 with the opening of the Bronzeville community centre, a historically Black neighborhood in Milwaukee. The location was strategic, with the centre decorated with a collage featuring Black Republican congressional members, portraits of civil rights leaders, and an image of Mr. Trump, a polarizing figure who has employed racist rhetoric. Orlando Owens, the Republican party representative for the city’s six majority-Black wards, is planning a roundtable of Black business and church leaders this month and a door-knocking campaign aimed at undecided voters.
However, the voter engagement drive was thrown into confusion when the Republican National Committee last month announced it was axing plans for 40 community centres aimed at organizing Black, Hispanic, and Asian American voters. This move has underlined the challenges the party faces in persuading Milwaukee’s Black voters that they are committed to the community beyond November’s elections. Despite these challenges, Republican party officials have expressed their long-term commitment to the community, highlighting resident concerns including inflation, the rise in robberies and carjackings, and the Biden administration’s handling of migration at the US-Mexico border.
Some residents remain skeptical about the Republicans’ motives, pointing to the lack of tangible actions taken to benefit the Black community. Gloria Harper, a 46-year-old teacher and author, said she contacted her local city councillor to complain about the Republican office in 2020. “It’s strategic for them to put that in the Black community because you want to garner more Black votes – but realistically, ‘what have you done for the Black community?’ Not much,” she said.
Democratic strategists acknowledge that Mr. Biden needs to shore up his support among Black voters if he is going to hold on to Wisconsin in November. The Biden campaign has started airing radio ads in Wisconsin and other battleground states touting a record low in the Black unemployment rate and an increase in Black-owned small businesses. However, some Black voters remain loyal to Mr. Biden, such as 70-year-old retiree Michael Shands who believes that job growth for Black Americans has flourished during his time in office. “He’s done more than any other president. I need him to be here four more years so he can finish the job,” he said.