Black voters, Latino voters and other voters of color show solidarity on the ballot box

Shortly before Kamala Harris replaces Joe Biden Several national polls and first election results suggested that Donald Trump, because the Democratic Party's presidential candidate for 2024, had alienated considered one of its most reliable voting blocs – people of color – from the party.

This was the case with surveys indicate that Trump was expected to win more black voices than some other GOP candidate in modern history. Other polls suggested that more Hispanic voters Support for Trump despite his anti-immigration policy and infrequently racist rhetoric.

Each of those apparent policy shifts occurred at a time through the Democratic primaries when President Biden was losing support amongst Arab-American voters – one other reliable Democratic political bloc.

Although Harris’ candidacy has delighted Democratic voters Across the country, she continues to be not resistant to the impact of Trump's appeal to voters of color. Pew Research Center survey from August 2024 found that 77% of all black voters supported Harris, while 13% supported Trump.

Among black voters under 50, Harris was still ahead with 68 percent approval, but 19 percent supported Trump.

In a presidential election The result’s prone to be close, but in lots of swing states the mobilization of voters of color will again be crucial for victory, just like the 2020 election, which Biden won. Biden won by lower than 45,000 votes in Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsinthe three states during which he had the sting within the electoral college.

To win in 2024, Harris and Trump must mobilize communities of color which can be already inclined in large numbers to vote for Harris – despite the slight progress that Trump on this often fragile political coalition.

Similarity principle

Since 2020 my Research laboratory at UCLA conducted five nationwide experiments with black, Asian, Latino, Middle Eastern, and North African voters to look at the psychological aspects that influence the voting decisions of individuals from these different groups.

In addition, we conducted two additional large-scale studies to look at the aspects that undermine these shared perspectives.

Our findings suggest that, despite their quite a few political and social differences, communities of color usually tend to vote for candidates who support policies that help eliminate racial injustice against all groups, not only their very own.

In fact, an in depth take a look at several studies of nearly 3,500 adults from across the United States suggests the precise opposite of the poll results showing Trump's gains amongst voters of color.

Part of the explanation for that is the so-called Similarity principlethe tendency of humans to love others who’re just like them. Based on this principle, we asked participants in our experiments to read an article concerning the discrimination that one other ethnic group had experienced.

In one study, for instance, black adults examine how Latinos were treated as second-class residents. This was an experience that the black participants could relate to. In one other study, Latinos examine how Asian Americans were labeled as “foreigners.” This is an experience that many Latinos share.

These shared social experiences even have a political component.

After different groups examine other groups, we realized that black supportive of measures that profit Latino voters, similar to Expand rights for undocumented Latino immigrants. In return, Latino voters supports Black Lives Matter more stronglywhile Asian Americans, Middle Easterners and North Africans supported cuts within the variety of border patrol agents and federal spending on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The most significant thing is that this solidarity relies on a standard identity as individuals with a unique skin color and is independent of whether the individuals are ideologically liberal or conservative.

A solid multi-ethnic coalition

This racial solidarity stays unbroken despite attempts by some politicians to undermine it by stoking divisions inside communities of color.

In one experiment, for instance, we drew attention to the problems that may sometimes fuel conflict between different groups, similar to immigration, positive discrimination or reparation.

But more vital than these problems were the similar types of discrimination experienced by each group. Both Asians and Latinos were treated as “foreigners,” although a lot of their family roots within the United States went back several generations. Both blacks and Latinos were discriminated against as socially “inferior” groups, although parts of those populations made visible socioeconomic progress.

Our findings show how negative experiences will be transformed right into a net political gain – a resilient political coalition.

But in the true world, messages designed to advertise solidarity amongst these racially diverse voters must achieve this without triggering political conflict between them – a Divisive tactics which Trump has used explicitly and with some success.

In the 2020 election, Trump increased his gains amongst all groups of minority voters in comparison with 2016 and captured 1 in 4 voters are of coloured origin nationally. Trump won the votes of virtually 1 in 5 black menand roughly one third of Asian-American And Latino electorate.

However, our research shows that solidarity amongst people of color is deep-rooted, and politicians would do well to take advantage of this solidarity in the event that they wish to win on the ballot box.