A new shock poll conducted by the NAACP last week showed that one in four black men under 50 say theyre going to back President Donald Trump.
Numbers like that should terrify Vice President Kamala Harris campaign – especially as they eye black communities across the county that are critical to winning in 2024.
Cobb County, Georgia is one of those places.
President Joe Biden carried Cobb in 2020 by almost ten percentage points.
Running up the vote there helped him win Georgia, making him the first Democratic presidential candidate since Bill Clinton in 1992 to pluck off the Peach State.
Now, Cobb is even more important to Harriss electoral hopes – as she finds herself locked in deadheat with Trump.
Over the last ten years, Cobb country has become more affluent and diverse as black middle-class professionals have moved out of Atlanta and into these suburbs.
If Harris can convince black voters here to come out for her in numbers, then her chances of winning Georgia and the White House improve dramatically.
Though thats far from guaranteed, as DailyMail.com found.
We went to Cobb County to speak to a panel of eight undecided black voters - and we discovered that Harris may have significant reason to worry.
DailyMail.com went to Cobb County to speak to a panel of eight undecided black voters. And we discovered that Harris may have significant reason to worry.
Harris isnt strong like Michelle Obama
Hayward, the oldest member of our group at 64 is retired and living on disability benefits.
He voted for Biden in 2020 and is now leaning toward supporting Harris, but he has concerns.
My thing is her strength, he told me, angling forward in his chair. You cant be weak and hold that office.
His particular worry is whether Harris will be able to effectively manage difficult relationships with foreign allies and adversaries.
When you have to face these other leaders from these other countries, are you going to have what it takes to stand there and throw punches like they throw punches? he asked of the Democrat.
Several women in the group agreed.
Bryanna, a college-educated software engineer was the youngest person on the panel at 29.
She voted for Trump in 2020 and is inclined to vote for him again.
Hayward, the oldest member of our group at 64 is retired and living on disability benefits. He voted for Biden in 2020 and is now leaning toward supporting Harris, but he has concerns.
Bryanna, a college-educated software engineer was the youngest person on the panel at 29. She voted for Trump in 2020 and is inclined to vote for him again.
To her, Harris says all the right things, but she doubts the vice president has what it takes to get the job done.
She kept saying that shes a warrior, Bryanna said of Harriss performance at last weeks ABC News debate, but… I dont think she is a warrior, like a fighter, like she said she is.
Mikael, a 32-year-old teacher and mom of three, thought Harris won the debate.
She was one of the vice presidents staunchest supporters in the group but she, too, doubted Harriss ability to execute.
Everything that glitters aint gold, Mikael said. It looks great on paper, but Im not sure if itll translate to policies and if shell even be able to get it passed.
Leonard, a 54-year-old business owner who voted for Biden in 2020 and expects to support Harris, saw a potential problem with the vice presidents gender.
I hope she doesnt be emotionally weak and doesnt make decisions off of emotions, he said. As they say, all women are emotional, so you dont want to get rattled because youre going to have a lot of pressure being the president.
Jarron, 37, is unemployed and has some college education. He voted for Trump in 2016 - the first time he ever supported a Republican.
In 2020, Jarron swung back to the Democrats, but now hes unsure who hell support in 2024.
Mikael, a 32-year-old teacher and mom of three, thought Harris won the debate and she was one of the vice presidents staunchest supporters in the group - but she, too, doubted Harriss ability to execute.
Jarron, 37, is unemployed and has some college education. He voted for Trump in 2016, the first time he ever supported a Republican.
I asked him what his biggest hesitation about Harris was.
After a pause, he said woman problems to gasps and giggles from the rest of the group.
I expected a cry of protest from the women in the room. Instead, they largely agreed.
Dontressa, 52, has a masters degree and is now medically retired.
She is a Biden 2020 voter who says hell likely vote for Harris, but she compared the vice president unfavorably to other prominent female Democrats.
If you put her next to Michelle Obama or Hillary Clinton, its like theres no comparison, said Dontressa. They would eat her up.
I then asked each member of the group to participate in a unique – and telling – exercise.
Kamala is a lamb... Donald is snake
The panelists were asked to draw the animal that came to mind when they thought of each candidate.
Trump was depicted as a snake, a lion, a shark, a chimp - and even a donkey.
I put Trump as a jackass, Dontressa revealed to howls from the group. Some of the stuff he says is just ridiculous.
The teacher Mikael also took Trump to task – imaging him as a goldfish.
Hes kinda clueless, she said. And hes orange.
However, in general, Trump was perceived as being brutish, untrustworthy, unpredictable and aggressive.
Harris was described as softer, harmless and even deceptive.
The teacher Mikael also took Trump to task – imaging him as a goldfish. Hes kinda clueless, she said. And hes orange.
Leonard, a 54-year-old business owner who voted for Biden in 2020 and expects to support Harris.
She was drawn as a lamb, a fox, a cat, a rabbit, a swan and even a sweet pony, by Leonard.
She has to develop something that she doesnt have right now, said Hayward. Dont be fooled. Dont be tricked. I see her as a lamb – gentle.
Ricardo, 35, a machine operator who backed Trump in 2020 and will likely vote for him again, chose a gecko: Shes changed her position on a lot of things.
Another major vulnerability for Harris among our focus group was pocketbook issues.
Everything is worse now with Biden and Harris
Seven out of eight of our panelists said that they thought the U.S. economy was better under Trump than the Biden-Harris administration.
Leonard, the pro-Harris business owner, believed that President Trump provided more jobs, more opportunities than Biden did.
If you look at the statistics now, were far more worse now than we were before, he said. Everything is worse now with Biden and Harris.
Hayward concurred: Even though Trump didnt make all the right choices, the economy just worked better under him. I think it was the overall business mindset that helped.
Ricardo, 35, a machine operator who backed Trump in 2020 and will likely vote for him again, chose a gecko: Shes changed her position on a lot of things.
Indeed, some in the group felt that economic growth under Trump was a happy accident or a gift left by President Barack Obama, but there is no doubt these voters have a better memory of life during his term than under the current administration.
That said, our panelists also passed some harsh judgments on Trump.
Half of the group believed he lost the debate with Harris – and nearly to a person they outright rejected much of what he had to say on racial issues.
Flustered Trump lost debate
Asked who peformed best at the debate last week, four panelists said Harris won, two went for Trump, and two said it was a draw.
Harriss display of self-control was the most impressive to these undecided voters.
Mikael, the teacher and mom, saw Harris as just more presidential. She just appeared to be more in control… and she fully addressed all of the parts of the questions.
Overall, our undecided voters felt Trump was flustered, reactive, defensive, and incapable of telling the truth.
Mikael, the 32-year-old teacher with a masters degree, found Trumps performance disappointing – because while shes leaning toward voting for Harris, shes still interested in an alternative.
I was hoping maybe to see something different because Im not all the way sold on Kamala Harris, she said.
Dontressa agreed: She was more composed, and she didnt get upset and out of control like Trump.
Asked who peformed best at the debate last week, four panelists said Harris won, two went for Trump, and two said it was a draw.
She particulary upset by what she sees as the lefts effort to push transgender issues on schoolchildren.
Black families are about protecting the children, she explained. And we dont want those issues taught to our kids at such a young age.
I then showed the group a clip of the ABC News debate, when Trump was asked to explain why he had once claimed that Harris had happened to turn black.
Only one panelist, Bryanna, thought that Harris had tried to use her race for her own political advantage.
I do thinks she played it up for her election, like, Yeah. Im black too..
The rest of the group fiercely disagreed.
I think what Trump said in there was just ridiculous. Hes ridiculous, said Dontressa.
Hayward, 64, criticized Trump to what he felt was an appeal to some Americans darkest impulses.
Hes talking to Bubba and little Jimmy Bob, said Hayward. Hes the first president that Ive experienced who just threw the racial issue all over the place. He uses whatever means he has to get that edge.
And as I found speaking to mostly white undecided voters in Erie County, Pennsylvania last month – Trumps personality is a problem for people who may otherwise find reasons to vote for him.
Asked to react to a clip of Trump repeating unverified claims that Haitian migrants living in Springfield, Ohio were killing and eating the pets of residents, the group laughed out loud and dismissed the claims as crazy.
It makes me feel like hes stupid, said Dontressa, How can you take someone seriously that is talking about eating dogs and cats and pigs?
Even Ricardo, a Trump-leaner, felt it made him look like someone who doesnt know everything and theyre just repeating what they hear.
Then it came to their time to vote.
Pushed to make a choice on who they would support in November, six said they were leaning toward Harris and two toward Trump. But as their remarks show – several are not fully committed and have major concerns about Harriss strength and ability to manage the economy – which are critical issues.
If Trump can make inroads with these voters on these issues, he may be able to peel away support.
But hell need to get out of his own way first – by dropping the personal attacks and focusing on the issues that matter to the voters in Cobb.