Head of NC’s Legislative Black Caucus makes his Democratic presidential pick
Former Vice President Joe Biden picked up a key North Carolina endorsement Monday.
State Sen. Paul Lowe, chairman of the North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus, endorsed Biden for president. The caucus includes 39 state lawmakers, including members of other ethnic minority groups. Lowe is a pastor who represents Winston-Salem and Forsyth County.
Biden, a top contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, has had a lead with African-American voters throughout the campaign.
“This Country is more divided today than at any time since the Civil War. In order to heal those divides we must elect leadership that will work to bring all of us together,” Lowe said in a statement. “Vice President Joe Biden will begin the process of bringing all Americans together: One America for all!”
North Carolina ‘s primary is part of Super Tuesday on March 3.
U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a past chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, endorsed Biden in September. The other member of the Congressional Black Caucus from North Carolina, U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, said she has not yet picked a candidate in the still-large Democratic primary field.
State Sen. Erica Smith, a Democrat who is running for the U.S. Senate and is the immediate past chair of the NC Legislative Black Caucus, said she has not endorsed in the presidential race, though she previously expressed support for Sen. Kamala Harris of California, who has dropped out of the race, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
Biden, who served as vice president for eight years under President Barack Obama, the nation’s first black president, is counting on African-American support to help lift his candidacy in the primary’s crowded top tier. The top-tier candidates do not include an African American. Harris and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey have ended their campaigns.
Biden, 77, leads among North Carolina voters, according to a recent Public Policy Polling survey. Biden was at 31% to 18% for Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and 15% for Warren in the poll released last week. Biden had strong support among African-American voters in the poll with 47% choosing him.
That’s right in line with national support for Biden among black voters. A recent national poll showed him with 48% among African-American voters, far outdistancing Sanders at 20%, though Sanders did lead with black voters under 35.
“Our polling found that more than six in 10 African Americans believe the next president should continue to build on President Obama’s policies, and Biden’s campaign has promised to do exactly that. He has tied himself to Obama’s legacy, and it’s paying off politically,” said Clifford Young, president of Ipsos Public Affairs, US, in a statement about the Washington Post/ Ipsos poll.
At an Iowa event aimed at voters of color Monday, Biden took exception to a question about Sanders’ support with younger black voters, The New York Times reported.
“Name me anybody who has remotely close to the support I have in the African-American community nationally,” Biden said.
An interaction between Biden and one African-American supporter on his way to a meeting with The New York Times’ editorial board, which endorsed Warren and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, became a viral video Sunday.
“I love you. I do. You’re, like, my favorite,” she tells Biden in the elevator.
Biden thanks her, asks her name and then offers to take a selfie with her.
“You are awesome. Oh my gosh,” she said.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Domecast politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it on Megaphone, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published January 21, 2020 at 12:23 PM.
