Cost of living, economy key issues in Milwaukee as Republicans try to court black voters

WATERTOWN, Wis. — With VP Kamala Harris as its presidential nominee, the Democrat Party is expected to lock up the black vote — just like it’s been doing for 60 plus years.

But in Wisconsin’s key urban centers that could make or break a Democrat, some black voters say the Biden-Harris economy has brought pain to their pocketbooks.

Milwaukee conservative activist Chris Lawrence told The Post that when dealing with black voters, Donald Trump and Republicans need to focus on how people are faring financially after four years of the Biden-Harris administration.

“Have their lives improved the last four years under Joe Biden? What will change from Harris to Biden in the next four years?” he asked.

“If nothing will materially change–why would you continue to support that?”

Lawrence also said he hasn’t seen any on the ground engagement or contact with voters from either campaign.

His advice for the GOP and Donald Trump?

“Highlight what the Democrats haven’t done — the promises they made to black voters that haven’t come through,” Lawrence said.

A CBS News/YouGov national poll of likely black voters at the end of July found Harris has picked up about 8% more of the black vote than Biden had in July before he stepped down, 81% to Trump’s 18%.

The same poll found 74% of black registered voters say they will “definitely vote” this November, compared to 58% in July, also before Biden backed out of the race.

A higher black voter turnout in the majority minority City of Milwaukee could have a major impact on which candidate wins Wisconsin’s ten electoral votes this fall.

While liberal Dane County’s turnout helped push the state into Biden territory in 2020, Milwaukee also saw an uptick in turnout.

Will Harris as the nominee change the calculus for black voters this November?

“That remains to be seen,” Lawrence said.

Will Martin, a Racine businessman and Republican leader, has lived in Milwaukee for 25 years.

He says families of color have been hit disproportionately by double-digit rent increases in Milwaukee, and wages have not kept up with that kind of increase.

Out-of-state investors are buying up housing in predominantly black neighborhoods and boarding up some of the units to artificially increase rents, Martin added.

Voters like Sharon Gray are still feeling the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced her to shutter her small business in Milwaukee.

She now works at a warehouse, and is supporting Donald Trump this November.

Kalan Haywood Sr., a Milwaukee businessman and developer, told The Post that having black outreach events is a good thing, but that what’s more important is coming back to follow up with folks rather than simply pandering in an election year.

Charlene Abughrin is a Republican and a small business owner in Milwaukee.

She told The Post that the black community “hasn’t been inspired to vote in a long time,” a sentiment reflected in a decline in turnout in black majority wards in the city.

Describing the crime in her neighborhood — a fact of life for Milwaukee residents — Abughrin said it’s “4th of July every day and night,” adding: “I hear so much gunfire I think I have gotten desensitized to it.”

Abughrin has not seen much Republican voter outreach in her community and says the complaint she hears often is that Republicans only show up during voting season.

She did, however, mention Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde’s visit to the Juneteenth celebration and several other events.

Black voter outreach has been a big priority for the Trump Campaign. Last month Martin took part in an RNC event with South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt, an experience he called “empowering.”

“So often the media portrays black conservatives as being few in number,” said Martin, a GOP Executive Committee member. “It was really exciting to see so many conservatives coming together.”

Republican state Senator Julian Bradley represents a district containing several Milwaukee suburbs, and he believes the Democrats may face a political reckoning from black voters.

“Democrats have taken the black vote for granted for decades,” Bradley told The Post.

“Their years of overpromising and under delivering for the black community is catching up to them.”

“Republicans are reaching out and showing that not only do we care, but we have solutions to the high cost for gas and groceries, we have solutions for crime and underperforming schools that have kept kids from achieving the American Dream, and we have solutions for securing our border and stopping the flow of fentanyl into our streets,” Bradley continued.