Jamaicans in battleground US swing states step up game to push Harris to finish

With just 13 days to election day in the United States presidential elections, and polls showing an extremely tight race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, Jamaicans in several areas considered battleground swing states are pushing hard to get the vice president over the finish line.

Election Day is November 5.

To become president, a candidate has to win a minimum 270 votes in the Electoral College. Winning the popular vote does not guarantee a candidate becoming president.

The seven states that are considered battleground swing states are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Polls show that the vice president is leading the race nationally but is up one or two percentage points in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Georgia. However, because the lead is all within the polls margins of error, the race is essentially tied between Harris and Trump in the battleground swing states and a point here or there could tip the race in favour of either candidate to become president.

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For this reason, Jamaicans in the battleground swing states have re-doubled their ‘get out the vote’ efforts on behalf of Harris.

Over in Pennsylvania, Jamaican Stafford Grant told The Gleaner that he is seeing a level of enthusiasm not seen in past presidential races.

“Jamaicans and other Caribbean nationals have stepped up their knocking on doors, mailing, phone bank calls and other outreach efforts to drive turn out,” he said.

SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN

Grant, who is a former members of the Jamaica Defence Force, said that much use is also being made of social media and other media to drive the message on voter turnout.

“I am cautiously optimist about her chances but it will all come down to turnout and I believe that the campaign’s get out the vote ground game will make the difference to the election outcome,” he said.

According to Grant, churches and universities in the state are also targets of voter registration and voter turnout efforts.

“The campaign has to win Pennsylvania for her to become president,” said Grant.

Blane Staddard, who said he is voting for Harris, was more cautious than Grant in his assessment of the election in the state of Pennsylvania.

“Whoever wins Pennsylvania will win the presidency and right now I cannot call this race because it is so close,” he said.

He too agreed that Jamaicans and other Caribbean nationals have increased their efforts on Harris’ behalf, but said he fears that a number of young black men will not vote for her.

Blane said the level of enthusiasm coming out of the democratic convention has waned somewhat and the campaign needs to do more to turn out the votes.

“It is still a winnable state for her but it all depends on turnout,” he said.

Over in Georgia, former state representative Donna McLeod said Jamaicans are very enthused about the Harris campaign and have stepped up their efforts to get her across the finish line.

According to McLeod, early voting in the state of Georgia has shattered turnout records and many Jamaicans have taken advantage of voting early or by mail.

“In counties with large Jamaican and Caribbean populations we have witnessed an increase of voting by Jamaicans,” she said.

JAMAICAN VOTERS

McLeod said that, in Lawrenceville, where there is a large concentration of Jamaicans, more than 4,000 Jamaicans have voted early.

“This tells me that Jamaicans are invested in getting the vice president elected,” she said.

McLeod noted that there has been no let-up in efforts to get people to the polls, to knock on doors, manning phone banks and mailing voting information to voters.

Professor Clover Hall said the election is nerve-racking but she is keeping her fingers crossed.

“I have been taking people to the polls and we see the long lines of people voting early and my hope is that this portends well for Vice President Harris,” she said.

Hall said Jamaicans have stepped up their efforts to get out the votes.

“We know that the race is very close, so we have stepped up our postcard campaign, mailing, phone banking, door knocking and telling everyone to go out and vote,” she told The Gleaner.

Over in North Carolina, Jamaican businessman Vinroy Reid told The Gleaner that there has been record turnout among Jamaicans in early voting.

“Jamaicans have stepped up their efforts on behalf of Vice President Harris. They have increased outreach efforts such as knocking on doors, mailing campaign literature, manning phone banks, taking people to the polls and canvassing,” he said.

Reid said that, based on what he is seeing on the ground, he is very optimistic that Harris could become the first Democratic candidate to win North Carolina since former President Barack Obama.

“Jamaicans are very energised to get her over the finish line,” he said.

Reid said that, although there are some jitters, he nevertheless feels that the vice president will carry the state on election day.

He does not think that Hurricane Helene, which devastated parts of North Carolina, is having an impact on voter turnout based on the long lines for early voting.

OPTIMISM AMONG VOTERS

Aubrey Campbell, a radio show host, said the mood on the ground in North Carolina among Jamaicans is cautious optimism.

“There seems to be a sense of urgency and the enthusiasm level for Vice President Harris is good,” he said.

He said that because Jamaicans are scattered across the state it is hard to get a good sense about how they will vote on election day but that if the lines for early voting are any indication, it bodes well for Harris.

According to several news outlets, Democrats are leading in the early voting.

Over in New York, which is a state the vice president is expected to easily win, Irwine Clare said buses of Jamaicans and other Caribbean nationals have travelled to battleground swing states to work on behalf of the vice president.

Clare also pointed out that, financially, Jamaicans and other Caribbean nationals have also got involved at a much higher level than previously.

“This is a consequential election that will have implications for Jamaicans both here and in Jamaica. If former President Trump wins and follows through on his pledge to deport migrants, I wonder how this will affect Jamaicans needing to travel to the United States,” he said.

Clare, a community leader and head of Caribbean Immigrants Services in Queens, said Jamaicans and other Caribbean nationals have to encourage their brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers and other family members as well as friends and other relatives to go out and vote.

He said there is a noticeable effort to get out the vote and encourage others to vote in the upcoming elections.

He also questioned how the former president’s immigration policies would affect Jamaicans and other Caribbean nationals, with or without status in the US.

“It is a chance we cannot afford to take,” he said.

editorial@gleanerjm.com