Kamala Harris maintains a strong lead over Donald Trump among Black swing-state voters, according to a new poll. Despite her sizable advantage, some Black voters in these battleground states remain undecided.
The Howard University Initiative on Public Opinion polled 981 likely Black voters in key swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The results show that 84% of likely Black voters plan to support Harris in November, while 8% back Trump, and another 8% are undecided.
The findings are consistent with the previous poll in September, although Trump’s support has slightly slipped. In September, Harris had 82% support, 2 points lower than now, while Trump had 12%, 4 points higher than in the current poll. About 66% of Black voters expressed excitement about voting in November, including 35% who remain undecided about their choice.
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Although the majority of Black voters plan to support Harris, there has been a notable shift among independents. Support for Trump among independent Black voters has risen to 18%, up from 12% in September. The share of undecided independents also increased to 26%, compared to 20% last month.
Gender and Age Divides: Harris leads Trump by 81 points among Black women but only by 59 points among Black men. The percentage of undecided voters is the same for both groups, with 10% unsure of their choice.
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Across all age groups, Harris holds a strong lead among Black voters, but her margin is smaller among younger voters. Among Black men under 50, Harris leads by 47 points, with 68% supporting her and 21% backing Trump. An additional 11% remain undecided. Harris leads Trump by 75 points among young Black women, though 12% of them are undecided.
Key Issues: When asked about the most important issues influencing their vote, 22% of Black voters cited democracy, voting rights, and elections, followed by 19% who prioritized the economy, and 16% who focused on abortion and women’s rights. Inflation was cited by 10% of voters.
There were notable differences between men and women. Black men identified democracy and the economy as their top concerns (22% each), followed by other issues (13%) and inflation (9%). Abortion and anti-Trump rhetoric were each important to 6% of Black men. For Black women, abortion was the most important issue (21%), followed by democracy (19%) and the economy (18%).
Among undecided Black voters, the economy (19%) and inflation (14%) were the top concerns.
The Howard Initiative on Public Opinion conducted the poll between October 2 and 8 via text-to-web online surveys and phone interviews with registered Black voters in the seven battleground states. The margin of error for the poll is ±3.2 percentage points.
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