A new poll released by BlackPac identifies top issues for the black community in the 2020 election, as well as which candidate has majority support.
Half of the voters surveyed listed racism and discrimination as the top issues for 2020, and with different states across the nation passing abortion bans, 53 percent of women listed health care as a critical issue. Other listed issues included jobs, education, police accountability, and the environment.
Of the 613 black registered voters surveyed nationwide, 97 percent knew the names of two candidates: Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.
“Name identification, which is driving support for candidates at this point, will be insufficient for decisively winning the black electorate, and subsequently, securing the nomination," said BlackPAC Executive Director Adrianne Shropshire in a press release sent to Blavity. "Candidates must use this critical window to define their campaigns around these concerns.”
Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Cory Booker rounded out the polls top five, and all three had a significant jump in favorability among voters who followed the news closely.
“Black voters remain highly motivated to push our country back on track," Shropshire said. "To win the Democratic presidential nomination, candidates must demonstrate to black voters — through policy solutions and moral conviction — an unyielding commitment to halting the rise of bigotry, and curbing widening racial disparities in our economic, healthcare, and education systems.”
BlackPac also found the black community was well engaged with the 2020 election; 84 percent said they were closely following the news and 92 percent listed themselves as likely to vote.