Poll: Black Voters Overwhelmingly See Violent Crime as Very Important Issue for Midterms

People vote in the Super Tuesday primary at Centreville High School March 1, 2016, in Cent
PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton

Black voters are significantly more concerned about violent crime than other racial and ethnic groups, according to a Pew Research Poll released just over one week before the midterm elections.

Pew Research Center found 61 percent of American voters believe violent crime is “very important” when deciding who to vote for in next week’s midterm elections.

However, Pew found 81 percent of black voters believe violent crime is a very important issue when considering who to vote for, compared to 65 percent of Hispanic voters and 56 percent of white voters.

Interestingly, 82 percent of black Democrats think crime is very important to their vote next week, while only 33 percent of white Democrat voters feel the same.

Pew Research Center surveyed 5,098 U.S. adults, including 3,993 registered voters, from October 10 to October 16.

If Pew’s poll numbers are any indication, Republicans, who have emphasized crime in their pitch to voters this midterm cycle, could be in for record levels of support from black voters.

While Democrats are trying to pivot away from anti-law enforcement policies like defunding the police or abolishing ice, the GOP is presenting themselves as voters’ tough-on-crime choice in next week’s election.

For example, House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) pledged to hold federal funds from local prosecutors and “woke district attorneys” who refuse to prosecute crimes as part of House Republicans’ Commitment to America plan.

In the upper chamber, National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) released an 11-point plan that, among other things, similarly calls on Republicans to focus on reducing the country’s rising crime rates. Point three in Scott’s plan strives to reduce crime by increasing police funding and imposing tougher penalties for criminals.

Scott told Breitbart News that the way to end the crime wave is to “enforce the law.”

The Republican Party is also focused on securing our southern border, which would reduce crime and the fentanyl influx by cracking down on those who enter the country illegally.

Black voters’ emphasis on crime could also be the reason why they are increasingly supporting the Republican Party and Republican candidates at record levels.

Recently, an October USA Today poll found that 21 percent of black Americans support the GOP. If the Republican Party can gain 21 percent of the black vote in next week’s midterms, that would nearly double the 12 percent of black voters who supported former President Donald Trump in 2020, which was a record for a GOP presidential candidate in recent years.

Georgia, which has a 33 percent black population, could be a preview of what Republicans can expect nationwide from black voters.

For example, Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) is performing 12 points worse among black voters than he did in last year’s special election, according to recent polls. Further, Georgia Democrat gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is also struggling to get the same amount of black support in this cycle as she did in her 2018 loss to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R).

Abrams is polling at less than 80 percent among black voters, which is a decline from the 85 percent she earned in 2018.

Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter. 

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