Harris campaign launches campaign to mobilize Maine’s black population

On Wednesday, state and local leaders gathered at Monument Square to launch the Harris-Walz campaign’s efforts to mobilize Maine’s black population to vote.

The event, held a week after Democrats gathered in Chicago to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, was the latest in a series of campaign rallies in Maine since Harris took over President Biden’s Democratic ticket in late July.

Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland), the first black woman to serve as speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, sought to capitalize on the energy of last week’s convention, which she described as life-changing.

“It has rekindled in me – as I am sure in many others – the fire to fight harder for the future we all believe in,” said Talbot Ross.

Talbot Ross, co-chair of Black Mainers for Harris-Walz, said the new group “creates a space for dialogue, organizing and action where Black Mainers can directly participate in a campaign that values ​​us, that sees us and hears us, and that values ​​diversity.”

The Maine Department of State does not have a breakdown of voter registrations by race, so it’s difficult to say exactly how many Black voters there are in Maine. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, just under 3% of the state’s 1.3 million residents identified as Black or African American in 2020.

Talbot Ross said it is important for black Mainers to know that there are elected politicians in Maine fighting for a party that supports diversity and equity.

Republican Donald Trump and his allies “are planning a massive expansion of presidential power with Project 2025,” said Talbot Ross.

She said Trump’s election will weaken black communities because he is repealing the Affordable Care Act, promoting white supremacy and supporting policies that widen the racial wealth gap.

“This is not the policy we want here in Maine, and we need to make sure we cannot stand idly by if it is not what we want,” she said.

Project 2025 is a set of conservative policy proposals for a new Republican administration published by the conservative Heritage Foundation. Trump has sought to distance himself from the plan’s agenda, although critics have cited the involvement of his allies as evidence that the plan shows what a second Trump administration could look like.

Trump has also stated in the past that he would seek to repeal the health care reform law. However, a spokesman for his campaign told the New York Times earlier this month that Trump is not seeking to repeal the law, but rather wants to “actually make health care affordable.”

Janiyah Thomas, the director of black media for Team Trump, did not respond to questions about the Portland rally on Wednesday specifically about whether Trump plans a similar campaign targeting black voters in Maine, but she said the campaign is “going to deep blue cities and driving grassroots engagement on a national platform.”

“Black voters, like all voters, know that President Trump is the strongest candidate on issues important to voters, such as the economy, immigration and inflation,” Thomas said in a statement.

Harris’ launch in Portland on Wednesday drew about 60 people, plus others who stopped to listen as they walked across the square at lunchtime.

Talbot Ross was joined by several state and local officials, Peaks Island resident and anti-racism organization leader Shay Stewart-Bouley, Black Mainers for Harris-Walz co-chair Darmita Wilson, and U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), all of whom addressed the crowd.

Beatty said she came to Maine as Harris’ surrogate because “every vote, every vote counts” and that this year’s election is “the most consequential of our lifetime.”

“We’re going to get people registered to vote and then we’re going to go out and vote,” she said.

Cushing resident Angela Franklin Lord drove nearly two hours to the rally after hearing about it from her congressman at a lobster dinner last weekend. “I’ve never not voted for a Democrat,” Lord said, adding that she shares Harris’ positions on reproductive rights, foreign policy and gun violence.

“Your public service just inspires me,” Lord said.

Marcia Minter of Portland, who also attended the rally and is part of the Black Mainers Committee for Harris-Walz, said she liked that the candidates were “standing up for true justice for all Americans.”

She said she appreciated holding the rally on Wednesday.

“Maine has a reputation for not having any black people and being the whitest state,” Minter said. “We are very much here. We have always been here and we are a very active and close-knit community and we want to make sure that is seen and heard.”

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