She is falling behind.
Vice President Kamala Harris is facing challenges with Black and Latino voters in the Sun Belt states, particularly when compared to former President Biden’s performance in 2020, according to CNN political analyst Harry Enten. On a segment of “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” Enten discussed recent polling data that indicates former President Trump has a slight edge over Harris in key Sun Belt states such as Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina—states that Biden had won in the previous election.
Enten highlighted that Harris’s support among Hispanic voters in the region has significantly declined. In 2020, Biden secured 66% of the Hispanic vote in the Sun Belt, while Harris currently sits at only 52%. This marks a noticeable struggle for her in comparison to Biden’s numbers from four years ago. Similarly, among Black voters, Harris is garnering 83% support, which is also a drop from Biden’s 92% in the last election.
The data suggests that Harris is having difficulty maintaining the level of support among voters of color in the Sun Belt, which is more diverse than the northern battleground states. Enten also pointed out that issues like the economy and inflation are top concerns for voters in the region, with 31% prioritizing them, followed by 16% who are focused on immigration and another 16% on abortion—topics that generally favor Trump.
If Harris continues to perform well in the less diverse states of the northern “blue wall” while Trump retains his advantage in the Sun Belt, the electoral race could remain extremely competitive. Enten indicated that even with this scenario, the race is too close to call, with electoral votes being projected at 276 for Harris and 262 for Trump, emphasizing the unpredictability of the upcoming election based on current polling.
