Georgia

Donald Trump or Kamala Harris: Who will Black men in Georgia vote for?

Published

11 months ago

November 1, 2024

Donald Trump or Kamala Harris: Who will Black men in Georgia vote for?

Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris know if they want to win Georgia, they need to secure the Black vote. Black people make up Georgia’s largest minority voting bloc, representing roughly 30% of all registered voters in the swing state.

Black men played a critical role in electing President Joe Biden. A total of 83% of Black men in Georgia cast a ballot for Biden in 2020, the Washington Post reported. Now, a week before the 2024 election, the candidates are crisscrossing the state to reach Black men, with Harris working to maintain Democrats’ traditional edge among the demographic.

Over 77% of Black Georgians plan to vote for Harris, according to a recent poll from the Atlanta Journal Constitution. That’s a jump from the 70% who were backing Biden when asked in June, but still far less than the 90% of votes Biden received from Black Georgians in the 2020 election.

There have been rumblings for months among some pollsters that Black men might be leaving the Democratic party, instead choosing to throw their support behind Trump.

Despite what some polls are saying, John Taylor believes “the reality is very different.”

Taylor is the co-founder of the Black Male Initiative Georgia, a nonprofit that focuses on getting Black men civically engaged in the Peach State. Through door-to-door canvassing and events, his group has had over 195,000 conversations with Black men during this election cycle. The vast majority — roughly 83% — voiced their support for Harris.

“I don’t believe that we’re more inclined to vote for Trump,” Taylor says. “I think it’s an atrocious, racist trope to think that because Trump has 34 charges, or his misogynistic behavior, that it in some way endears him to Black men. That’s not who we are.”USA TODAY spoke with Black men on the ground in Georgia to see where they stood on the matchup between Harris and Trump.

A house divided

Josh Gossett, a 33-year-old small business owner in Atlanta, has seen this dynamic play out in his own family. Gossett voted early for Harris. His younger brother Aaron will be casting a ballot for Trump this year.

He believes his brother was eventually won over by Trump’s antagonistic attitude.

“It isn’t about the policies,” Gossett tells USA TODAY. “For people like my brother, it really is about opposition to the mainstream. They see Trump as an avatar for all their anger and frustrations that they’ve had with the system.”

Gossett feels that system has often “left behind” Black men like him and his brother, leaving them “underpaid and underemployed” in the modern workforce. Those disparities in employment and financial opportunity then translate to frustrations at the ballot box.

That’s when a politician like Trump enters, fueling economic insecurities with anti-immigrant rhetoric.

“If any group of people is vulnerable to the idea that immigrants are ‘stealing’ their jobs, it’s Black men,” Gossett says.

‘Racism got real bad under Trump’

Robert James is a 67-year-old rideshare driver who lives in a suburb of Atlanta. While driving, he’s inundated with constant reminders of the presidential election—on the radio, interstate billboards, and customers eager to chat about politics. Like many Americans, he’s excited for the election to be over.

“I’m tired of seeing the commercials,” he sighs.

But campaign ads aside, James knows this election is important—particularly for Black men. He fears that racism would escalate under a second Trump presidency.

“After Trump was elected, it reminded me of the days after Sept.11th,” James says. “Racism got real bad under Trump, after he first got in there. It gave people permission to be racist.”

Like the rise in hate crimes faced by Muslim, Arab, Sikh, and South Asian Americans following the 2001 terrorist attacks, violence against Black Americans skyrocketed in the wake of Trump’s election.

According to a study by the Southern Poverty Law Center, there were 187 hate incidents committed against Black people in the first 10 days following the 2016 election. Some of these amounted to hate crimes.

It is facts like this that make it even more disheartening for James to see fellow Black men support Trump. “My question for them is: why? Why do you continue to back this man? You see how he is.”

Harris’ plans for Black men

Thousands of people gathered to hear former First Lady Michelle Obama speak at a rally on Tuesday in College Park, just south of downtown. Many were bussed in from Atlanta’s historically Black colleges and universities, proudly donning the colors of Harris’ sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha.

But Laquann Wilson, a 27-year-old student from Alabama State University, traveled hours to attend the nonpartisan rally. Wilson says he’s open to “learning to work together” across political differences but doesn’t identify strongly with either party.

“At the end of the day, we all need jobs. The cost of gas is high for everyone. So, if you can help me with a better economic policy, I don’t care if you’re Republican or Democrat,” Wilson explains. “I just want a president who is wise and has clear policies for the Black community.”

Taylor, the co-founder of the Black Male Initiative, believes that Harris has the better policies for Black men.

He points to her plan to provide loans that would forgive up to $20,000 for Black entrepreneurs to start a business, as well as her goal to legalize marijuana so people of color can have access to the booming multi-billion-dollar industry.

But Taylor emphasizes that it’s important to remember – especially when discussing the role of Black men in the election – that the Black vote doesn’t operate in a vacuum.“We have always been amongst the most progressive voting blocs in this country since the inception of our right to vote – in spite of being drawn and quartered, tarred and feathered, and killed on the road to the polls.”

So, while the Black vote “is a powerful voice and critical component,” Taylor says, it’s not up to them alone to put any particular candidate in office.

“If we don’t win, it’s not because enough Black men or women didn’t show up. It’s because well-meaning white women and men didn’t vote their conscious. That’s what is going to keep Vice President Kamala Harris from the White House. It’s not the brothers.”

Melissa Cruz is an elections reporting fellow who focuses on voter access issues for the USA TODAY Network. You can reach her at mcruz@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter, at @MelissaWrites22.

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Georgia

Georgia football future SEC opponents, schedule announced

Published

2 days ago

September 23, 2025

Press Room

Georgia football future SEC opponents, schedule announced

The SEC has announced the future Georgia football conference opponents for the 2026 through 2029 seasons.

Georgia will face Florida, South Carolina and Auburn every season. The SEC announced on Friday that the annual opponents will be revisited every four seasons.

Georgia football future SEC opponents, schedule

2026: Florida (Atlanta), at South Carolina, Auburn, at Alabama, at Ole Miss, at Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Vanderbilt
2027: Florida (Tampa), South Carolina, at Auburn, at Kentucky, at Texas, at Texas A&M, LSU, Mississippi State, Tennessee
2028: Florida (Jacksonville), at South Carolina, Auburn, Alabama, Ole Miss, Arkansas, at Oklahoma, at Missouri, at Vanderbilt
2029: Florida (Jacksonville), South Carolina, at Auburn, Kentucky, Texas, Texas A&M, at LSU, at Mississippi State, at Tennessee

“it’s hard. I mean, it’s brutal. And everybody’s the same,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said on Tuesday night. “I mean, we all gotta play each other. It’s really tough, highly ranked teams, physical teams. It’s just going to continue to be a grind. I mean, looking forward with the nines coming, it’s going to be scary because you just don’t have enough. Nobody has enough depth.”

Dates for the 2026 schedule will be announced in December, according to the conference. The schedules will be flipped in 2028 and 2029 from the home-road splits in 2026 and 2027.

In its scheduling outline, the SEC made it clear it wants competitively balanced schedules, which will be determined using the entire schedule and not just the annual opponents. Tennessee reportedly will face Alabama, Vanderbilt and Kentucky in each of the next four years. The latter two are not exactly football powerhouses.

According to the SEC, the highest opponent average winning percentage for any school in the 2026-29 schedules is 55.67% while the lowest is 46.65%, a difference of only 9.02%. From 2020 through 2023 — when the league still used the divisional format — the highest winning percentage was 61.32% and the lowest was 39.76%.

In addition to nine conference games, the SEC stipulates that schools face one Power Four in its nonconference scheduling.

Georgia’s game against Georgia Tech satisfies that requirement. Georgia has future nonconference games against Louisville, Florida State, Clemson and Ohio State on its schedule for the time being.

As it stands, Georgia has 13 games scheduled for the 2025 season. The Bulldogs have nonconfernce games against Tennessee State, Western Kentucky, Louisville and Georgia Tech.

“We’re working through that right now, and a lot of that’s going to be determined as we learn when and where our schedule is going to be in the next few weeks,” Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks said. “But that’s something we’re attacking right now to see what our options are going to be in 2026. So we’re going to take it one year at a time right now. The first focus is going to be on 2026 and then 2027 and moving on. So still a lot of work to be done, and I work closely with Coach Smart and Mark Robinson and the league to kind of figure out what is that going to mean for our schedule moving forward.”

Georgia takes on Alabama this week, with the game scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Georgia

‘Tinder Swindler’ Leviev arrested upon Georgia arrival | The Jerusalem Post

Published

2 weeks ago

September 14, 2025

Press Room

‘Tinder Swindler’ Leviev arrested upon Georgia arrival | The Jerusalem Post

The grounds for his arrest are still unknown, even to his attorneys.

Screenshot of Simon Leviev, the Tinder Swindler, in his documentary series on Free TV.

(photo credit: COURTESY OF FREE TV VIA MAARIV)

ByYOAV ETIEL, JERUSALEM POST STAFF

SEPTEMBER 15, 2025 01:43

Updated: SEPTEMBER 15, 2025 02:03

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Georgia

Clemson vs. Georgia Tech: College football live scores, games, highlights and more

Published

2 weeks ago

September 13, 2025

Press Room

Clemson vs. Georgia Tech: College football live scores, games, highlights and more

We’re back for another week of college football action and the slate is loaded, including three games between ranked opponents.

Here’s how to watch in Week 3. Scroll down for live scores, highlights and more.

Here are the best games this Saturday:

Clemson at Georgia Tech (+3), Noon ET, ESPN: The Tigers are just 3-point favorites ahead of their first road game. It’s a sign that expectations for Clemson have been way off. With Haynes King back, the Yellow Jackets will want to keep it on the ground.

Georgia at Tennessee (+4), 3:30 p.m., ABC: Has Georgia’s offense been good enough ahead of this pivotal SEC game? Saturday is the day to air it out as Tennessee will be without its top two corners again.

South Florida at Miami (-17.5), 4:30 p.m., The CW: The Bulls are the surprise team so far this season. Can they pull off a third straight upset, or will the ‘Canes handle business?

Florida at LSU (-7), 7:30 p.m., ABC: This game was going to be the day’s marquee matchup before Florida’s loss to USF. A Florida victory would certainly quiet the idea that Billy Napier is on the hot seat.

Texas A&M at Notre Dame (-6.5), 7:30 p.m., NBC: Aggies QB Marcel Reed has thrown for seven TDs so far and A&M’s offense has racked up 953 total yards. The Irish will surely try to get the ball to their star running backs after a subpar opener.

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