Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign has hired Burrell Communications, a black-owned advertising and marketing firm, to help it focus on black voters, NBC News reports.
African Americans demonstrated their strength when they turned out in historic numbers to support President Barack Obama’s two presidential campaigns. But will they show up for Clinton?
The former secretary of state already has the overwhelming support of the black electorate over her Democratic and Republican rivals, according to a Gallup Poll. One of her biggest challenges could be inspiring blacks to turn out in the primaries and then the general election if she wins the Democratic nomination, according to the Washington Post.
Clinton faces a big test in the upcoming South Carolina primary, which is the first contest that features a large black electorate. It could be a bellwether for predicting turnout among African Americans in the general election.
Recent polls indicate that Clinton holds a huge lead among South Carolina Democrats over her main Democratic rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. About 75 percent of black voters in South Carolina say that Clinton would do an “excellent” or “good” job in the White House, compared with about 50 percent who say the same about Sanders.
Still, Clinton’s hiring of Burrell adds to the view that she isn’t taking South Carolina’s black vote for granted. The job there includes having to heal some remaining scars among black voters who may still hold a grudge from comments made during her 2008 presidential campaign.
In her drive to connect with black voters and get them to the polls, Clinton has also hired LaDavia Drane. The former Congressional Black Caucus executive director is coordinating the Clinton campaign’s outreach to black voters.