Biden campaign brings Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to Milwaukee to rally Black voters

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party, campaigned for President Joe Biden in Milwaukee this weekend as part of a blitz to mobilize voters and, in Moore’s case, to boost enthusiasm for the president in the Black community.

Moore’s arrival came with a fresh challenge: addressing Biden’s shaky Thursday night debate performance that sent shockwaves through the party.

Biden stumbled over his words during the event and at times gave meandering answers, leading some Democrats to call for Biden to be replaced at the top of the ticket. 

Moore said that though Biden didn’t have a great night during the debate, his support for the president “has not waned one bit.”

“I know that this is not about a debate performance. It’s about a presidential performance,” Moore said.

Moore seized on a moment in the debate when former President Donald Trump, when speaking about illegal immigration into the country, commented, “They’re taking Black jobs now and they’re taking Hispanic jobs.”

Moore criticized Trump’s comments Saturday, arguing it provided a clear contrast for voters between Biden and Trump. Moore contended Biden’s administration has decreased the racial wealth gap by 60%, created more Black homeownership, created new pathways for entrepreneurship, and offered support for Black-owned businesses.

More: Was the fastest growth of Black-owned small businesses in 30 years under Biden?

“That’s the kind of economic support that the president is focusing on, and Donald Trump is talking about ‘Black jobs,’” Moore said. “This is a difference in the value system that these two people have.”

Moore’s visit to Wisconsin included a ’90s R&B cookout sponsored by the Black Coalition on Saturday at Milwaukee’s Carver Park. He also attended a Black men’s health roundtable in Madison and an office opening in Madison for the 48th Democratic field office in the state, alongside Gov. Tony Evers and party Chairman Ben Wikler.

Moore touted the Biden campaign’s Black Voters for Biden campaign that launched at the end of May to spotlight the administration’s efforts on behalf of underserved communities, specifically the allocation of $83 million to replace and repair contaminated lead pipes and reinvestment in infrastructure projects across the state.

The Black Voters for Biden leaders contrast the economic investments by Biden with projects like an unfulfilled Foxconn development deal that was negotiated during Trump’s presidency.

“The lack of consistency we heard from the other side, the lack of honesty that we heard from the other side, the lack of vision that we heard from the other side. That should give everyone pause,” Moore said.

Enthusiasm for Biden’s re-election in the Black community, a key constituency that helped lift him to the presidency in 2020, has become a big concern for Biden’s re-election campaign. Grassroots organizers in Milwaukee have cited hurdles in generating an energized turnout this year.

Republicans, who are staging their national convention in Milwaukee, next month, say they see an opportunity to spread a message that can resonate with Black voters in Milwaukee.

In 2020, the state GOP opened an office in the Harambee neighborhood, on the corner of East North Avenue and North King Drive, to boost outreach to Black voters in Milwaukee.

State GOP party chair Brian Schimming has told the Journal Sentinel polling shows Republicans could have a shot at winning over some Black voters.

Since 2020, the Democratic party has told voters that Joe Biden is the only candidate capable of beating former President Trump based on the president’s decades of public service experience and record voter turnout during the pandemic.

But, there is still work to be done to secure Wisconsin, a state where activist group Listen to Wisconsin rallied over 49,000 voters to cast an “uninstructed” ballot in April protesting the Biden administration’s military support of Israel.

Despite brewing discontentment with the president, Democrats like Moore hope voters set aside their frustrations to invest in the future of the party.

“Regardless of where you are on any one of these issues, we actually have a president who’s going to hear us and who’s going to incorporate that all that into the decision making,” Moore said. “I think if you look at, you know, the alternative, this is a binary choice.”