Donald Trump’s support among Black voters is more than twice as high as it was in the last election, according to a new poll from Emerson College Polling . The numbers showed that Trump’s support among respondents who identified as Black or African American stood at 19 percent, more than double the 7 percent he received in the 2016 election. An improvement among the Hispanic demographic was also shown, up from 29 percent in 2016.
The poll found that while Democratic candidate Joe Biden still has a lead among all minority groups, Trump has continued to perform better than he did in 2016.
“Biden leads with all minority groups, albeit by different ranges,” the report noted. “Biden leads with Asians 76% to 11%, Blacks/African Americans 77% to 19%, and Hispanic voters break for Biden 60% to 37%.”
As the National Review reported, Emerson showed strong support for the president after a series of other pollsters showed Biden with leads in the double digits. In its poll, Trump trailed by just a two-point margin nationally, losing 49 to 47. The organization’s July poll found that Biden had a four-point lead, so the latest results indicate that the race may be tightening.
While Emerson’s results appeared out-of-line with other recent polls, the National Review pointed out that the organization has an “A-” grade from analysis site FiveThirtyEight, putting it among the better pollsters.
Other recent polls have also shown Trump with a stronger standing among the Black and African American cohort than he achieved in 2016. As CNN reported back in July, the president has continued to overperform among this demographic compared to the last election cycle. Though he still trailed Biden by a 75-point margin in polling more than a month after protests against police brutality and racism broke out across the country, it was still an improvement from the 79-point deficit he had against Hillary Clinton at the same point in the previous cycle.
“Biden currently has such a large lead overall that Trump’s small gain among Black voters doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of the 2020 contest. But if the race for president tightens, Trump’s small gain with Black voters could make a difference,” noted polling analyst Harry Enten.
Enten added that the deficit among this important demographic could cost the Democratic candidate 0.5 points in a national election compared to Clinton, which could be enough to make a difference in a close race like 2016.
The gains have come despite criticism aimed at Trump for his handling of the national protests against racial injustice. Many have accused him of heavy-handed tactics including his rhetoric that appeared to support shooting looters .