Biden, Harris announce new campaign push for LGBTQ support, call members ‘a force to be reckoned with’
Fox News
President Biden and Vice President Harris’ re-election campaign has announced a new push to win over a group of voters that it claims is “a force to be reckoned with.” The initiative comes just seven months ahead of the president’s rematch with presumptive Republican nominee, former President Trump.
As Biden seeks to win another term in the White House despite facing historic low approval ratings, Team Biden-Harris announced the launch of “Out for Biden-Harris.” The campaign describes the program as a national effort to mobilize LGBTQ+ voters and community members across the country.
In a statement, Biden-Harris 2024 campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said, “LGBTQ+ voters are a force to be reckoned with.”
“They were critical to our victory in 2020, and they will be critical to winning again this November,” Chavez Rodriguez added. “That’s why we’re thrilled to launch Out for Biden-Harris, which will harness the LGBTQ+ community’s organizing prowess to reelect President Biden and Vice President Harris this November.”
In a campaign video that accompanied the announcement, Vice President Harris said, “Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard. And because you made your voices heard, marriages are more secure.”
“We will do what we have always done in this movement, in this community, which is collectively, we will continue to build unity. We will continue to build coalition. We will always be fueled by knowing we have so much more in common than what separates us. We will be fueled by knowing we are all in this together,” Harris said.
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The campaign statement boasted the Biden-Harris administration is “the most pro-LGBTQ+ in history” and identified LGBTQ+ voters as “a key part” of the re-election strategy.
The campaign has picked up endorsements from LGBTQ+ organizations across the country, including Equality North Carolina PAC, Fair Wisconsin, Delaware Stonewall PAC, the Center for Black Equity Political Action Fund, Equality California, Silver State Equality, the Human Rights Campaign, National Center for Trans Equality Action Fund, and Equality PAC.
“Collectively, these groups represent more than 3.8 million members who will use their resources to mobilize equality voters across every battleground state,” the campaign said.
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In the statement, Rodriguez added: “LGBTQ+ Americans couldn’t have more at stake this election.”
“LGBTQ+ Americans deserve leaders who will fight for every American’s freedom and dignity,” she said. “There has never been a more critical time to protect the rights of all Americans, no matter who you love or how you identify, and Out for Biden-Harris will be critical to not just safeguarding, but strengthening the rights and voice of every single American.”
The new program will kick off a series of events in the coming weeks, including virtual organizing calls, virtual training sessions and a series of “Out For Biden-Harris” house parties and community events.
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These events will be held in Phoenix; Ferndale, Michigan; Milwaukee; Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and Las Vegas.
The Biden administration has openly LGBTQ+ members, including Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine, Undersecretary of Defense Shawn Skelly, Ambassador to Switzerland Scott Miller, and others. It also held the Pride Month celebration at the White House in Washington, D.C., last year.
“It’s wonderful to welcome all of you — and over a thousand Americans from all across the country,” he said at the June 2023 event. “We’re gathered here today to honor the extraordinary the extraordinary courage and contributions of the LGBTQ community, to celebrate their legacy and their progress. And we welcome the largest Pride Month celebration ever held at the White House. But just the beginning.”
“Jill and I, Kamala and Doug [second gentleman Douglas Emhoff], the entire administration are doing everything we can to advance equality for the LGBTQ community in our nation — the entire nation,” he added.
In January, Biden’s approval rating plummeted to just 31%, a 15-year low.
Nearly 4 in 10 voters (38%) approve of the job Biden is doing on the economy, his best rating in a year. He fares worse on inflation (34% approve) and immigration (30%).
Overall, 41% approve of the job Biden is doing while 58% disapprove.
Fox News’ Kaitlin Sprague and Victoria Balara contributed to this report.