Will Kamala Harris’ candidacy motivate black and Asian voters?

Philadelphia City Councilmember Nina Ahmad took the stage at the Pennsylvania Convention Center earlier this month and asked a group of Asian American and Pacific Islander voters what representation looks like.

“It looks like Kamala Harris, the first Asian American and African American woman in history, will be our vice president,” she said, answering her own question.

Harris was in Philadelphia that day as Keynote speaker at Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote Presidential Eventdefending President Joe Biden’s challenging re-election campaign after his disastrous debate performance.

Now, just a week later, Harris — the daughter of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father — is poised to make history as the first woman of color to lead a major party presidential campaign.

The energy was building quickly around Harris on Sunday evening — According to the New York Times, it raised $50 million in less than 24 hoursAnd that energy was especially evident among black and South Asian voters who see themselves represented in Harris’ historic candidacy. Leaders in Pennsylvania’s black and Asian American communities speculated Monday that excitement would grow, allowing Democrats to recruit fresh or uncommitted voters.

“If we do this work, and we will, if we inspire, if we mobilize, if we organize, we can achieve historic turnout in November,” said Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija, the first Asian American to serve as a county commissioner in the state and a former leader of an Indian-American voter engagement group.

More than half a million Asian Americans live in Pennsylvania, making up 3% of the state’s voting population, while 12.7% of the state’s population is black. In a key swing state that is expected to be a close election, these voters will be key in November. Harris’ candidacy could have a particularly immense impact in heavily Democratic Philadelphia, where more than 39% of the population is black and 8% is Asian.

Anton Moore, a community activist and leader of Philadelphia’s 48th Congressional District, said black voters in his South Philadelphia district are poised to support Harris.

“When you look at the Democratic Party, who is it? It’s black women,” he said.

Can Harris motivate Pennsylvania’s black and Asian voters?

State Sen. Nikil Saval (D-Philadelphia), who is the first Hindu American to serve in the Pennsylvania Senate, said that while Harris had a story that would resonate with many voters of color, achieving that engagement wasn’t always uncomplicated.

“You can’t just bring it up,” he said. “To speak to people and reach them, it has to be specific.”

Latest polls Asian American voters showed Biden losing support among that group but maintaining a comfortable lead over former President Donald Trump. While the poll, conducted by AAPIData in April and May, did not track Harris’s chances against Trump, it did show that her overall popularity among Asian Americans was slightly lower than Biden’s.

And polls have shown Trump has more support among black voters this year, particularly among black men nationwide, than he did in 2020. Biden still leads that demographic in recent polls, but not by as much as he did four years ago. It’s not yet clear how the Democratic switch to Harris will affect polls among black voters in Pennsylvania.

Deanda Wilson, a Black Mount Airy voter and former federal employee who has volunteered in local elections and serves as an elections supervisor, was disappointed by what she called a superficial look at Biden’s record. Still, she looks forward to supporting Harris as the Democratic nominee.

“She would be an excellent president, and as soon as I have a chance to breathe, I will go out and knock on doors … to elect her,” she said.

Concerns about discrimination and language barriers

Philadelphia City Council member Cindy Bass, who is black, said Harris is highly qualified and she is confident the vice president can win the November election.

Still, Bass worries Harris will face additional scrutiny because of her identity.

“People always want to attribute some unknown, unspoken, unidentifiable quality to black women in politics,” said Bass, the leader of Philadelphia’s 8th District.

Ahmad points to Harris’ career history to dispel that notion. Her political career began two decades ago when she was elected district attorney of San Francisco and also served as California attorney general and senator.

“She did her due diligence, starting locally and growing, so she is fully qualified,” Ahmad said.

For some in the AAPI community, language barriers and access to precise information pose significant and particular challenges in informing voters about the Democratic Party’s shift, said Wei Chen, a Philadelphia-based activist who specializes in voter engagement.

“It’s going to be very difficult to convince people that Biden is no longer the presidential candidate,” said Chen, who works with residents with narrow English proficiency.

Mohan Seshadri, head of the Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance, which helps voters overcome language barriers, said Harris — and any candidate — should consider “the full diversity of our communities,” noting that Asian communities in Pennsylvania are not monolithic and speak more than two dozen different languages.

“Organizationally, the meteorite just hit,” Seshadri said of Harris’ rise. “The ground just shifted beneath our feet.”

The potential for Harris’ nomination left many Democrats feeling that it was time for a woman of color to be president. And that Harris had earned her spot.

Salima Suswell, founder of the Black Muslim Leadership Council, said, “It’s time for a woman to lead this country. It’s time for a black woman to be taken seriously as a leader in this country.”

Jamila Winder, a delegate to the Democratic National Convention and the first black woman to serve as Montgomery County commissioner, touted Harris’ qualifications.

“If she gets the nomination,” Winder said, “it will be because of all her education, her experience, her professional experience, her public service experience. She is simply a black woman.”