Thursday, March 28, 2024

Does Bernie Sanders Meeting Al Sharpton Equal More Black Voter Support?

Bernie+Sanders and Al+Sharpton*Bernie Sanders may be surging in the polls against fellow Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, but he’s hoping to garner increased support among black voters through meeting with the Rev. Al Sharpton.

The pair met Wednesday at the famed Sylvia’s restaurant in Harlem, a day after Sanders easily won the primary in New Hampshire over Clinton. Despite the victory, Sanders still has his work cut out for him as he moves on to the Feb. 27 primary in South Carolina.

Although more than 50 percent of the state’s registered Democrats are black, a recent NBC/Wall Street Journal Marist poll found that Sanders is receiving support from just 17 percent of black voters, compared to Clinton’s 74 percent.

Weighing on the situation in South Carolina, the Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight believes it will be an uphill battle for Sanders.

“Most worrisome for Sanders is his 25-percentage-point loss among New Hampshire Democrats who want to continue President Obama’s policies,” the political site noted. “Obama’s current job approval rating among blacks nationally is about 90 percent. Sanders will have big problems in South Carolina if he doesn’t do better among voters who like Obama.”

Still, a lot can be said about Sanders’ meeting with Sharpton, which lasted for roughly 30 minutes, according to the New York Post.

“Having Sharpton’s support, or at the very least [that Sharpton] be neutral, is important,” CNN Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper told TheWrap while pointing out that the meeting couldn’t hurt. “He is a major figure in the African-American community,” Tapper said. “A figure like Sharpton, what he says and what he thinks can have a lot of sway. Even if all he gets out of him is Sharpton’s pledge to be neutral in the Democratic contest, that’s a lot.”

Looking back on the last few months, Sanders interaction with black activists hasn’t been too joyful.

While attending a #BlackLivesMatter gathering, Sanders encountered concerns about him being out of touch with black voters in light of him representing the notably white state of Vermont. Add #BlackLivesMatter activists who marked the anniversary of Michael Brown’s death with disrupting a speech Sanders gave last summer, and it can said that the politician’s standing with black voters is far from solid.

Nevertheless, Sanders has made an effort to upgrade his stock as he hired #BlackLivesMatter supporter Symone Sanders (no relation) to help improve things.

The following is a tweet Symone Sanders posted on Wednesday regarding the meeting with Sharpton and the Vermont senator, which she was on hand for:


To see Bernie Sanders and Al Sharpton greet each other upon arriving at Sylvia’s, check out the video below:

 

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