The Biden-Harris Campaign really wants to ensure they have Black LGBTQ voters.
We are in the final week before the U.S. Presidential election, and that means our tv screens and internet browsers are swarmed with political advertisements. Then this week, the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Campaign released a new series of ads featuring Black people expressing their support of the duo. This new ad campaign also included some Black LGBTQ leaders.
Specifically, these ads, for television and digital spaces, feature Feroza, a transgender activist and founding member of the House of Balenciaga; Chris Walton, the chairman of Milwaukee County’s chapter of the Democratic Party; and Atlanta activists Jauan and Keon. Each one gives examples and reasoning for supporting Biden and Harris. For instance, Feroza talks about the Biden-Harris campaign’s support of LGBTQ people (compared to their homophobic competitor).
It’s no surprise that Biden and Harris are vying for the support of Black people and Black LGBTQ people. As we saw with Pete Buttigieg during the primaries, Black voters and LGBTQ voters are important to Democratic candidates. Democratic candidates cannot win a federal race within them.
That’s part of why Biden hired LGBTQ liaison Reggie Greer back in March. Greer, who is Black and openly gay, has a history of working with Biden and the Obama administration as the deputy director of public engagement at the Department of Transportation. Greer then transitioned into working for the LGBTQ Victory Institute, an organization that supports LGTBQ politicians, as the former director of constituent engagement. With that job history, we wouldn’t be surprised if it was Greer who conceptualized this new election campaign.
But will the videos work? Will Black LGBTQ voters stand beside Biden? We’ll see the results next week when the votes are counted.
