The Democratic Party has seen support among black and Hispanic voters plummet to an all-time low over the past three years, according to a Gallup poll released on Wednesday.
Black voters who identify as or lean Democratic outnumbered those who identify as or lean Republican by 47 percentage points in 2023, down from 66 percentage points in 2020, marking the narrowest gap ever reported by Gallup. Around 66 percent of black adults now would vote Democratic, compared with 19 percent favoring the Republican Party.
Gallup's findings also revealed historically low support among Hispanic voters for the Democratic Party, whose lead over the GOP among that group shrank from 28 percentage points in 2020 to only 12 percentage points in 2023. While 47 percent of Hispanic adults align with Democrats, 35 percent express a preference for Republicans.
The waning support among black and Hispanic voters presents a challenge for the Democratic Party, given that the two minority groups have historically been among the party's most reliable support bases.
Rep. James Clyburn (D., S.C.) on Sunday downplayed concerns about President Joe Biden losing support among black Americans, noting that "[Biden] got 96 percent of the vote in this primary, but its largest percentage—over 97 percent—was in the town of Orangeburg where there are two HBCUs [historically black colleges and universities] and a community college."
"So that demonstrates to me what I’ve been saying all the time and that Joe Biden has not lost any support among African Americans," Clyburn said.
A USA Today/Suffolk University poll in January, however, confirmed the Gallup poll’s findings, showing Biden has lost significant support among minority groups during his presidency. The share of African Americans who support Biden fell from 92 percent in 2020 to just 63 percent three years later, while his Hispanic support dropped to 34 percent from 65 percent.