In a bid to regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrats announced Tuesday that they will invest at least $35 million to reach voters of color in the 2024 election cycle.
The eight-figure move is a historic investment, superseding the $30 million spent on attracting minority voters—from Latino, Black, Asian, and Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian communities—in the 2022 midterm elections.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which is tasked with financing Democratic House campaigns, is calling the effort “P.O.W.E.R. the People.” The acronym stands for persuade, organize, welcome, educate, and reach.
“Democrats are committed to bringing responsible governance back to the House so that we can continue the important work of lowering costs, protecting and expanding health care, and delivering for our constituents,” said DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene, according to The Hill.
Voters of color have long been pivotal to Democratic election prospects. About 73% of Asian, Black, and Latino voters combined backed President Joe Biden in 2020, while just 25% supported former President Donald Trump, according to the data firm Catalist.
But Democratic support among minority voters has been waning in recent years, particularly among younger voters. The Israel-Hamas war has also prompted concerns about a political fallout among voters of color. A November Quinnipiac University poll showed that 40% of Black voters and 50% of Hispanic voters disapprove of the President’s handling of the conflict. “I think what’s going on with Gaza now is creating real and possibly lasting rifts within the coalition,” Cliff Albright, co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund, told the Washington Post. “Wars have cost presidencies.”
In October, the first national poll of Arab Americans since the Gaza war began found that only 17% of respondents said they will vote for Biden in 2024, compared to 59% in 2020. This could affect voter turnout in swing states such as Michigan, which is home to a large Arab American community. Donald Trump won the state by 10,000 votes in 2016, while Biden reclaimed it in 2020 by 154,000 votes.
The DCCC’s campaign will also target immigrants and feature ads and outreach in a number of languages, including Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Spanish.
“We know how important it is to have ongoing culturally inclusive and resonate outreach with voters of color including in TV, digital, print, mail, and radio,” said DCCC National Engagement Director Mariafernanda Zacarias.
The efforts are part of a calculated strategy to target competitive battlegrounds in New York, California, and a district in the Rio Grande Valley, which make up key regions previously lost to Republicans.
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