'An entirely new energy': Black voters see jolt of enthusiasm with Kamala Harris' rise

MADISON – As Vice President Kamala Harris effectively replaces President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket, Sabrina Madison sees an opportunity for "a Black woman to do what Black women have historically done, forever, in America."

"When we improve things for ourselves we, in essence, improve things for everyone else, too," Madison, a Common Council member in Madison and the founder and CEO of the Progress Center for Black Women, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

With Harris' ascendence in the presidential race, leaders at the forefront of Black voter mobilization efforts in Wisconsin assessed her impact on enthusiasm in the 2024 race and whether her candidacy changes Democrats' prospects.

To Madison, the political issues at the forefront in the 2024 election are abortion access and student debt relief — which have driven recent Democratic victories but could be infused with new energy as a 59-year-old, Black and South Asian woman takes the helm of a party led for the last four years by a now 81-year-old white man.

There wasn't a question whether Madison would vote for Biden in the rematch of his 2020 victory over Republican former President Donald Trump. But now, she said, "I feel like we have a real chance."

"Especially as these last two, three months have played out, it just felt like it was more and more of an uphill battle," Madison said.

There's now "a buzz" among Democratic organizers, said Angela Lang, Milwaukee executive director of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (BLOC) . Democrats now feel like "there is a real path" toward beating Trump in November, she told the Journal Sentinel.

Seeing Harris at the top of the ticket is a "testament of how Black women have been the backbone of the Democratic Party for so long, and have been consistent and voting and showing up and organizing their friends and families, around kitchens and dinner tables and churches," Lang said.

"I think being able to have a woman in that historic seat, one, as vice president, but then a very real possibility to have the presidency … President Biden had always talked about that this is a battle for the soul of our nation," Lang said. "And when you see folks like the Proud Boys and Nazis literally walking around trying to scare and intimidate folks, I think this is also a powerful form of resistance."

The significance of Harris holding her first presidential campaign event of the general election in Milwaukee was "huge," Lang said. Not only have Democrats learned from Hillary Clinton not visiting Wisconsin during the 2016 general election, they're also aware "the margin could run through our communities," Lang said.

"And I think she has a keen and astute awareness of that, and I think also that'll speak very strongly to Black voters here too," she said.

At the same time, Calena Roberts — political director for the Democratic voter outreach group Power to the Polls — said the shift from Biden to Harris didn't change her confidence in Democrats' chances in the Nov. 5 election.

"Personally, I feel almost like I did on Saturday," Roberts told the Journal Sentinel after Biden's Sunday announcement. "I'm sticking to that. We can win."

Roberts said the focus of her group is to make sure voters are made "totally aware and clear of what the choices are." She praised Biden's accomplishments as president, and said she didn't know how much his age was a factor, noting she is 71 and still working.

"And, you know, we all make blunders," she said. "I would say that he did a wonderful job and I'm very proud of him. And I'm proud of him for passing the torch, so to speak. I do think that Vice President Harris is probably our best way to go, because we don't have lots of time."

There is "nothing good that can come to or for Black people voting for Trump," Roberts said.

Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who now serves as president of Power to the Polls Wisconsin, said there was a "silver lining" to Biden's dismal debate performance in that it led to serious discussions about the next generation.

"For the first time in a long time, people didn't just seem to have the conversation about the next generation of leadership, but took it very seriously," Barnes said. "And saw how important that conversation about the next generation of leadership currently is, and how it will be."

Barnes, who had continued to back Biden, said it's now "all systems go" to help Harris defeat Trump. The shake-up "feels like a campaign cycle rejuvenation," he said.

"A lot of folks had concerns about the president. They weren't necessarily sure if he was up to the task for the campaign cycle. But I can say now that those feelings, those concerns should be assuaged," Barnes said. "There's an entirely new energy."

Republicans sought inroads with Black voters during Milwaukee RNC

The elevation of Harris as the Democratic Party frontrunner comes days after the GOP sought during its national convention in Milwaukee to cast itself as a big-tent party where all are welcome. Convention programming highlighted prominent Black leaders and made the case for conservative approaches to urban renewal.

Events including a panel discussion at the state party's Black Community Center and an event hosted by the Black Republican Mayors Association followed speeches during the convention's opening night from several Black legislators, including Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.

"As African-American conservatives, sometimes it’s easy to feel like you’re the only one. … You are not the only one," Scott told a crowd at the Mayors Association event hosted by Richard Irvin, mayor of Aurora, Ill. "There are thousands, if not millions, all around the country who believe like we believe, pray like we believe, do what we know needs to be done. If we keep doing, the people will follow."

Republicans have argued that inflation in the economy during the Biden tenure had harmed Black Americans and that Harris is inextricably tied to policies under the Biden administration. Trump on Thursday labeled Harris "the same as Biden, but much more radical. She's a radical left person."

The RNC events came amid an ongoing outreach effort to minority groups by Republican candidates, including visits by GOP Senate candidate Eric Hovde with Black business owners and to Milwaukee's Juneteenth celebration, and a recent appearance by Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson on 101.7 The Truth, the news-talk radio station focusing on Milwaukee's Black community.

In November, Wisconsin will yet again be a key swing state. The question of whether Black Americans will vote — and whether Republicans can draw enough of the historically reliably Democratic voting bloc — has trained the attention of the nation on cities like Milwaukee with large populations of Black voters.

Milwaukee voters react to Biden announcement

In the hours after Biden's announcement Sunday that he was leaving the race, Black voters in Milwaukee — the type Democratic organizers like Lang and Roberts and Republicans with their outreach efforts are most trying to reach — had mixed reactions.

Christopher Kemp, a 52-year-old veteran, said both political parties are “two sides of the same coin.” He pointed to the issues of homelessness, inflation and America’s involvement with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as reasons for his dissatisfaction with U.S. politicians.

Adding Harris to the race does little good, Kemp said, adding he has “never liked Kamala Harris from the beginning” due to her “extreme” stance on criminal justice and her treatment of Black men during her time as California’s attorney general.

Shenicka Newson, 32, and Kayla Macklin, 41, were excited by the prospect of Kamala Harris becoming the first female president in U.S. history. Newson and Macklin have been longtime supporters of the Democratic Party.

“It makes it more interesting,” Macklin said. “I'm excited to see where things go, and to see just how the world is going to receive the possibility of having an African American woman on the ticket.”

While Macklin knows little about Kamala Harris and her political stances, she will tune into the Democratic National Convention to learn more about Harris and other candidates.

“Now usually, I don't watch it,” Macklin said. “But I'm going to watch it now. I'm not really, really big into politics. So I don't have a real big opinion on things. But I'm going to watch it now because of the change that happened.”

Newson said she thought it would be difficult for Harris to win, considering how “last-minute” her entrance was.

Milwaukee's top elected officials — both Black men — aren't buying Republicans' efforts to reach Black voters.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson said he often talks with Black voters, particularly Black men, about the election, whether they are registered to vote and going to vote, and they have no plans to support Trump.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said he hasn't seen any "ground game" in terms of Republican outreach to Black voters.

And at Coffee Makes You Black, a cafe about two miles north of the Fiserv Forum, which hosted the RNC primetime programming, the owner, employees and patrons told the Journal Sentinel no efforts were made to reach out to their community.

Before greeting Harris at Mitchell International Airport on Tuesday, Johnson spoke to reporters about the importance of the vice president’s visit to Milwaukee as she kicks off her presidential campaign. With Harris at the top of the ticket, he said, the Democratic Party can encourage and re-engage young people and women leading into November.

“She has been the administration’s and the campaign’s number one when it comes to talking about abortion rights and some of Donald Trump’s agenda like Project 2025,” Johnson said.

“I think there is no better person to prosecute the case against Donald Trump," he said.

Crowley said he saw Democrats across the country rallying around Harris’ presidential bid.

Crowley described Harris’ run as a “shot in the arm” that would help Democrats reinvigorate the party’s base and refocus the campaign on issues that draw voters to the party’s candidates.

“She’s the perfect choice moving forward and making sure that we can focus on women’s rights, we can focus on issues that directly affect young people and people of color because that’s what makes us great as America. That’s what our strength is,” he said.

To Madison, the stakes of the election are stark: "my ability to feel free."

That relates to reproductive rights, the environment, immigration policy and more, from her perspective. People of color, she said, will be "less free" under a second Trump presidency.

Black women — both Madison and Lang emphasized — have carried their communities, regardless of whether their political support has served them personally.

"It doesn't just help Black women. It helps white women, Latino women, Asian women. It helps literally all women," Madison said. "So what I hope for women in general, is that they just see themselves represented in her leadership, and not try to make it a sort of divisive sort of thing. … I think that all of us can find parts of ourselves represented in her leadership."

Alison Dirr, Tamia Fowlkes, Tristan Hernandez and Jane Park of the Journal Sentinel contributed.

Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com. Mary Spicuzza can be reached at mary.spicuzza@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'An entirely new energy': Black voters see jolt of enthusiasm with Kamala Harris' rise