Deval Patrick Tries to Cut Into Biden’s African-American Support
Deval Patrick Tries to Cut Into Biden’s African-American Support
(Bloomberg) -- Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick courted black voters in South Carolina on Tuesday, trying to cut into Joe Biden’s commanding lead among black voters in the early primary state.
At a meeting with about a dozen African-American businesswomen in Columbia, Patrick, a former managing director at Bain Capital Private Equity LP, spoke briefly about growing up on the South Side of Chicago before opening the floor to questions, saying he was more interested in listening than in delivering a speech.
“I come in humbly because I don’t think that any one candidate or frankly any one party has a corner on all those ideas,” Patrick said. “I want to be a listener. It’s frankly how I learn.”
Patrick joined the nominating contest just last Thursday and has only begun to hint at his policy positions or governing philosophy.
He appeared at candidate events in California and Nevada last weekend, and campaigned in Iowa on Monday before arriving in South Carolina. Both states hold nominating contests in February.
He has suggested he is unimpressed with Medicare for All, the massive government-run health care overhaul championed by Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, but favors higher taxes on the wealthy.
He demurred Tuesday when asked about reparations for descendants of American slaves, a proposal that has been embraced by several other candidates, including Warren and Senator Kamala Harris.
“Yes we need to deal with the chronic poverty and marginalization that has been true of an overwhelming number of our people that has its roots in slavery,” Patrick said. “But once the check is written, unless we have reconciliation, unless we have some truth telling about what actually happened, I’m just not sure we’re going to feel satisfied.”
Patrick joined the crowded 2020 Democratic competition amid growing concerns that the existing field won’t produce a nominee strong enough to beat President Donald Trump.
With 75 days until the leadoff Iowa caucuses, Patrick faces an uphill struggle to win the nomination, with no staff on the ground in the early states and limited name recognition. He also could find it difficult to raise money to finance a national campaign and qualify for the party debates, which keep increasing their fundraising and polling thresholds.
As an African American, Patrick could diminish Biden’s strength with black voters, although neither Cory Booker nor Harris, the other black candidates, have achieved that yet.
In South Carolina, where a majority of Democratic primary voters are black, Patrick could argue that he could turn out black voters in the general election better than Biden, although the former vice president holds a commanding lead with them.
Patrick told reporters in Columbia that he wasn’t worried about his timing in joining the race.
“I don’t think it’s too late and I think the field is open, there is a path,” he said. “I think everybody understands that the whatever the path is, it’s got to come from South Carolina and I love that.”
He added that he was undeterred by polls showing Biden’s huge leads in the state and among African-American voters.
“I respect Vice President Biden. He has huge name recognition,” Patrick said. “I think it is also true that in black communities in South Carolina and elsewhere, and in other communities, people don’t feel seen and heard if at all in elections.”
Johnnie Cordero, chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party Black Caucus, also said Biden didn’t have a lock on the state.
“Those people who say that Biden has the lead, what they’re really talking about is the older African-American churchgoers,” Cordero said. “But I can tell you this, they will not win South Carolina with that vote alone. What he needs to bring over is the millennials and those who have not traditionally voted for the Democrats, that’s what’s going to make the difference.”
Catherine Fleming Bruce, 57, who said she runs two political advocacy Facebook pages for South Carolina voters, said Patrick made a good impression.
“He held his own tonight,” Fleming Bruce said. “He was talking about listening to the people and getting his cues from them, and combined with the record as a governor, which is a strong record, he has an opportunity to do something fresh so we’ll see.”
Denean Ambersley, 53, who owns a coffee distribution company, held Patrick’s hand and said she was happy he had entered the race, as she recalled holding Barack Obama’s hand in 2008.
At the two events in Columbia on Tuesday, Patrick answered questions about his approach to business and highlighted his work at Bain.
Like several other candidates, Patrick has presented his campaign as an effort to unite Americans after a period of deep division. In a video announcing his candidacy last week, Patrick said he is running “to build a better, more sustainable, more inclusive American dream for the next generation.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Emma Kinery in Washington at ekinery@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Max Berley, John Harney
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