by Shawn Nowlin
In five months, a melting pot of Americans will render one of the most important verdicts in this country’s history – give President Joe Biden a second term or appoint Donald Trump to the role of Commander-in-Chief.
In 2020, exactly 81,283,501 people cast a vote for the Biden-Harris ticket. The Trump-Pence ticket garnered 74,223,975 votes. All the data suggests that this year’s General Election will set turnout records.
In this current hyper-partisan climate, it’s hard to imagine any candidate getting an approval rating higher than 55 percent. If the election were tomorrow, polling indicates that Biden would narrowly win Virginia’s 13 Electoral Votes, but lose to Trump in the General Election.
With the election likely to come down to a razor-thin margin, every single vote is going to be crucial.
Roanoke’s Democratic campaign office had its official launch on May 30. Staffers, volunteers and left-leaning voters filled up the building to the brim for the grand opening. Attendees wore shirts that read “Biden-Harris 2024” and “I’m Ridin’ With Biden.”
The event also kicked off “Black Voters for Biden-Harris,” a nationwide coalition of African-American faith and elected leaders, community residents and passionate Americans committed to making sure that Biden becomes a two-term President.
Several prominent local Democrats – Mayor Sherman Lea, Vice President Joe Cobb, Councilwoman Trish White-Boyd and Ken Mitchell – gave passionate speeches.
Mitchell, the Democratic nominee for the 6th Congressional District said, “The road to the White House will go through Virginia. The Biden Administration stands for our rights and our freedoms. I am running on a platform to protect our rights and freedoms too.”
Cobb later added, “You can vote for Joe twice on the ballot, and you won’t get arrested. You can vote Joe for President and Joe for Roanoke Mayor. This election is so critical. One of the main reasons why we need Joe and Kamala in the White House is because when I think about the women in my life, restoring reproductive rights is such a vital issue.”
Running a Presidential campaign is extremely grueling. In recent weeks, both Biden and Trump have met with the Teamsters Union to court their endorsement.
If re-elected, Biden has said his agenda will include lowering the costs of prescription drugs and health care, forgiving more student loan debt and tackling climate change. Trump says that if he’s given another term, “We are going to have the largest deportation in the history of this country. We have no choice.”
Roanoke native Parker Johnson has an ambitious goal that she’d like to accomplish by the end of the summer: register at least 1,000 people to vote. “Obviously, I hope that they all vote down-ticket for Democrats, but much more importantly, I just want as many people as possible to participate in our election process,” she said.
“I was tasked with making sure that we engage with the African American community,” White-Boyd said. “We all know someone who feels that the Biden Administration has done little to nothing for people of color. It’s our duty to provide them with accurate information.”
Closing out the event, Mayor Lea said, “We must not get caught up in all of the unnecessary rhetoric. When Biden took office, we were a low-sinking ship. He, along with his Administration, brought it back. We must all work together in the remaining months.”
