Top officials for former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign are growing “increasingly worried” about insufficient black and Latino voter turnout in battleground states such as Florida and Pennsylvania in the final stretch of the 2020 presidential election, according to a report.
Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the situation, reported Friday:
Despite record early-vote turnout around the country, there are warning signs for Biden. In Arizona, two-thirds of Latino registered voters have not yet cast a ballot. In Florida, half of Latino and Black registered voters have not yet voted but more than half of White voters have cast ballots, according to data from Catalist, a Democratic data firm. In Pennsylvania, nearly 75% of registered Black voters have not yet voted, the data shows.
The firm’s analysis of early vote numbers also show a surge of non-college educated White voters, who largely back President Donald Trump, compared to voters of color, who overwhelmingly support Biden.
The situation is particularly stark in Florida where Republicans currently have a 9.4% turnout advantage in Miami-Dade County, a place where analysts say Biden will need a significant margin of victory to carry the state.
“I would like to see turnout increase – and yes, we need improvement,” Steve Schale, who heads of the pro-Biden super PAC Unite the Country, said this week of Miami-Dade County early vote figures.
Bloomberg News’ report comes hours after CNN revealed concern among Florida Democrats, including Rep. Frederica Wilson (D), that black and Hispanic Americans in the Sunshine state could underwhelm with voter turnout.
“The one place that may defy your math and logic, David, is Miami-Dade County in Florida,” CNN New Day host Alisyn Camerota told the network’s political director, David Chalian. “What I think the numbers are showing is that many more Republicans have already gone in person to vote in early voting than Democrats. And Congressman Frederica Wilson of that district is trying to sound the alarm. She talked to Politico and said that what he’s seeing is very concerning for her. She has said — let me quote it to you — ‘I screamed, hollered, I called, I lobbied from the top to the bottom,’ Wilson said of her efforts to get the turnout operation started in the community, including sending written proposals to the Biden campaign and having virtual Zoom meetings with his advisers.
“She is worried because what she’s seeing, she says, in terms of the black community and Hispanic, it’s not going Biden’s way,” the concluded.
A Politico report published Thursday also included concerns about Hispanic voter turnout for Biden in Miami-Dade County.
“Among Hispanic voters, who make up nearly 70 percent of the county’s population, the deficit is even bigger — 9 points,” reported the news site.
Matt Isbell, a Florida-based Democratic data analyst,” echoed Politico‘s reporting in a brief interview.
“Democrats have a big turnout issue in the Hispanic community in Miami-Dade,” Isbell stated, adding that turnout for the minority group for Republicans is 57 percent compared to 48 percent for Democrats.
“It is a Miami problem,” he conceded.
A newly-released Trafalgar Group survey found President Trump with a 2.7 percent lead in Florida, topping Biden with 49.6 percent to 46.9 percent.
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