Atlanta Voice Editor Says Black Voters ‘Don’t Want to Be Used’

“We have a lot of concerns from our readers, from local voters who are saying, ‘Hey, we don’t want to be appeased, we don’t want to be used.’ But we don’t want an alternative,” Suggs said.

Data from the March Primary confirms this idea. 200,000 black voters participated in the March 12 presidential primary in Georgia, and 95% of them chose a Democratic ballot.

Suggs’ comments also come a day after President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris made a joint appearance in Philadelphia to promote a Black voter initiative.

Suggs said that on the campaign trail, he would like to see Biden focus less on speaking to Black voters by listing policy accomplishments.

“In general, a lot of people don’t remember any policies,” Suggs said. “What they remember is what their life was like when you were in (the office) and when you were out of (the office).”

“The feeling is huge,” Suggs said. “Let’s go back to (former President) Obama. He was our guy. So even if certain policies weren’t passed, he was still our guy fighting for us.

“The alternative really helped Biden,” Suggs said, referring to presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Trump faces several legal challenges, including the ongoing election interference case in Fulton County. Jury deliberations continued Thursday in Trump’s criminal trial in New York.

Suggs, a New York native, says he remembers Trump dominating news cycles in the 1980s.

“I grew up in New York in the ’80s. Trump was on the back page, or rather the front page, of the New York Times, the New York Post and the New York News every day for something.”

But Trump could still make inroads with the black electorate.

In 2020, only 11,000 votes separated former President Donald Trump and Joe Biden in Georgia.

Suggs said that with these narrow margins, Vice President Harris’ visits to Georgia will be crucial for the Biden campaign.

“Vice President Harris is doing a great job representing the White House in Georgia,” Donnell said. “When she comes to Atlanta, it’s like a concert. She may need to be much more present in the coming months.

AJC data reporter Phoebe Quinton contributed to this article.

Friday on “Georgia Politically”: Republican strategist Cody Hall and legal analyst Anthony Michael Kreis join the show.