White House hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced Friday he will visit three historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) during a multiday tour in North and South Carolina as he seeks to chip into former Vice President Joe Biden’s lead among African American voters.
The tour includes stops at North Carolina A&T State University, Benedict College and South Carolina State University, the three HBCUs, as well as University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Winthrop University.
{mosads}The campaign said in a press release that the trip is intended to “engage students on issues that matter to them, including Senator Sanders’ plan to cancel all student loan debt and make public colleges and universities tuition-free.”
Sanders will be joined on the tour by campaign co-chairs Nina Turner and Ben Cohen — the co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s — as well as other surrogates for his campaign including rapper Killer Mike, activist Phillip Agnew, actor Danny Glover and professors Cornel West and Adolph Reed.
The tour comes as Sanders and other Democratic contenders seek to win over African American voters who have largely backed Biden in polls.
The latest Economist-YouGov tracking poll shows Biden dominating with black voters, with 48 percent saying the former vice president is their first choice in the primary, while only 11 percent say the same for Sanders.
Sanders has enjoyed higher support among younger black voters, though like other racial groups older African Americans vote at higher rates.
Support among black voters will prove critical in South Carolina, a key early primary state, where African Americans make up roughly 60 percent of the primary electorate.