CLEVELAND — With five weeks to go until the November election, Democrats and Republicans are looking to energize their base, making sure those who are eligible to vote are registered and those who are registered turn out. It was one of the driving themes behind this past weekend's 1,000 Black Men Boots on the Ground rally and canvas on Cleveland's east side.
"We don't have a registration problem in Cleveland," said Mayor Justin Bibb to those gathered at Luke Easter Park. "We have a participation problem."
Following the rally, folks like James Wingo and his Omega Psi Phi Fraternity brothers took to the streets in the area of East 123rd and Union. Armed with flyers, they reminded voters of key dates coming up and the importance of their vote in this election.
"We know that we need more boots on the ground to get the word out," said Wingo. "Today, we're dropping literature to get everyone out to vote because there's been just a low participation in doing that."
Wingo's enthusiasm for the Harris-Walz ticket was on display as he met with voters. The change at the top of the ticket impacted his feelings about this race, for sure.
"I just didn't feel comfortable when it was Biden. It was just too much hemming and hawing, and now we have something to push forward to," he said.
Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright said he sees it, too. "Kamala Harris has brought more energy to this race than Duke Power Company itself. We feel the 'Kamalamentum' up and down the ballot, and I think that matters because when it comes to African American voters, you can win with us, but you can lose without us."
"The Black vote will be the most consequential and decisive voting bloc in the history of this country," he said. "34.4 million eligible Black voters in this upcoming election, that's a 7% increase since 2020. Black folks are casting a survivor vote in this election."
They also know the impact turning voters out for the top of the ticket can have on down-ballot races like U.S. Senate and Congress.
The historical significance of the Black vote in Cleveland, the difference that can be made when they stand and vote as a bloc, became evident in the late 60s with the election of Carl Stokes as the nation's first Black mayor of a major city and his brother Louis as Ohio's first Black member of Congress.
"Black political power started here in Cleveland," said Cleveland Council President Blaine Griffin. "That's why we were able to elect the first Black mayor of a major city. So all we're doing is standing on the shoulders of our elders."
In Presidential election years, Democrats have counted on strong support and turnout from Black voters in places like Cleveland to offset Republican advantages in the rest of the state, with GOP hopefuls never even campaigning here.
In 2016, Donald Trump flipped that script, not only campaigning in Cleveland but making a play for Black voters, asking what Democratic leaders have done for them.
"We have inner cities that are more dangerous than places of war," said Trump in 2016 asking Cleveland's Black voters a simple question. "What do you have to lose? It can't get any worse it really can't. The inner cities cannot get much worse."
Those 2016 comments were made in the Cleveland Heights church of one of the first Black pastors to get behind Trump, Pastor Darryl Scott who tells News 5 he remains active in the Trump 2024 efforts.
"We're going to be in Philadelphia, Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, all of the battleground states where the Black vote will be very influential," said Pastor Scott. "He's had continued engagement with the Black community since he ran for office in 2016, it's not simply something that he does at election time. He's been very proactive regarding initiatives favorable to the Black community."
Some polls show Harris trailing Biden's 2020 numbers among Black voters, especially young Black men. Scott said economic concerns are a big reason some are turning to Trump and he's working on a plan with the Trump team that will strengthen that bond even further.
"He's going to release very, very soon a policy plan geared towards the Black community that's going to focus on economic opportunities to support the Black community," he said. "Myself and my business partner have worked very hard on it with him and there are going to be a number of components to this plan that I believe will be favorable to the Black community."
While he and the Trump team will continue their efforts to recruit and energize their Black voters, so too will Seawright and the Democrats.
"It's high tech and high test, we have to meet voters where they are," said Seawright. "So it's not just calling people on the phone and not just knocking the doors, it's online, it's email, it's small group settings, it's rallies. It's some of everything."
