How Many Black Women Voted for Kamala: The Real Story Behind the 2024 Exit Polls

How Many Black Women Voted for Kamala: The Real Story Behind the 2024 Exit Polls

Honestly, if you spent any time on social media or watching the news after the 2024 election, you probably heard the same tired talking points. People love to dissect who showed up and who didn't. But when it comes to the question of how many black women voted for kamala, the data tells a story that's a lot more nuanced than a simple headline.

Black women have long been called the "backbone" of the Democratic party. It's a heavy title to carry. In 2024, they didn't just carry it; they basically reinforced the entire structure while other groups were shifting around.

The Raw Numbers: What the Exit Polls Actually Say

Let’s get into the nitty-gritty. According to AP VoteCast, a massive survey of more than 120,000 voters, about 9 in 10 Black women backed Kamala Harris. Specifically, most data points settle around 91% to 92%.

To put that in perspective, while other demographics were seeing double-digit swings toward Donald Trump, Black women stayed remarkably consistent. Pew Research Center’s updated 2024 analysis corroborated this, showing that while Black men and Hispanic voters moved slightly toward the Republican ticket, Black women remained the most loyal constituency for the Harris-Walz campaign.

Now, you've gotta realize that "92%" isn't just a number. It represents millions of individual choices made in the face of some pretty intense economic pressure. While the media was obsessing over "the bro vote" or the "Latino shift," Black women were quietly—and not so quietly—doing the work they always do.

Why the 92% Figure Matters

Why does everyone keep brings this up? Well, because it's basically the highest level of support any candidate received from any specific demographic group in the 2024 cycle.

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  • White women? Just under half supported Harris.
  • Latina women? Roughly 60% backed the Vice President (a noticeable dip from 2020).
  • Black men? About 8 in 10 voted for Harris, but Trump made significant gains with younger Black men, doubling his share in that subgroup.

So, when you ask how many black women voted for kamala, you’re looking at a group that stood almost entirely alone in its level of consensus.

What Drove the Vote? It Wasn't Just "Identity Politics"

There's this annoying misconception that Black women vote for Democrats just because. Kinda reductive, right?

If you look at the KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) polling insights from late 2024, the motivations were much more practical. Sure, the prospect of the first Black and South Asian woman president was a factor—about a third of Black women in the AP VoteCast survey said it was a major motivator—but it wasn't the only thing.

Inflation and the "Kitchen Table" Reality

Actually, over half of Black women voters cited inflation and the rising cost of groceries as their top concern. They were feeling the pinch at the supermarket just like everyone else. The difference? They largely viewed the Democratic platform as a better, or at least a safer, bet for protecting the social safety net.

The Democracy Factor

This is where it gets interesting. Black women were more likely than almost any other group to say that "the future of democracy" was their primary reason for voting. According to Melanie Campbell of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, there’s a sense that "going backward" isn't just a political setback for Black women—it’s a threat to their actual safety and hard-won rights.

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The Disconnect Between Turnout and Results

So, if so many Black women voted for her, why didn't she win?

Basically, because the rest of the country didn't follow suit. You can have 92% of one group, but if you're losing ground with White working-class voters in the suburbs and Latino men in the Sun Belt, the math just doesn't add up in the Electoral College.

There’s been a lot of talk—honestly, some of it pretty heated—about the "betrayal" felt after the election. You’ve probably seen the "stepping back" movement on TikTok or Instagram. Many Black women, who spent weeks organizing "Win With Black Women" calls and raising millions in small-dollar donations, felt like they did their part, only to be left wondering why they’re always expected to save a democracy that doesn't always save them back.

Breaking Down the States: Where It Really Happened

In the "Blue Wall" states—Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin—the Black women's vote was crucial. In Philadelphia and Detroit, turnout among Black women remained high, even as overall Democratic margins narrowed.

For example, in North Carolina, while Trump made gains with Black men (nearly 20% in some exit polls), Black women in the Research Triangle and Charlotte areas remained a fortress for Harris. It just wasn't enough to overcome the massive surge of rural White voters.

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The Generational Divide

It’s worth noting that it wasn't a total monolith. Younger Black women (Gen Z and Millennials) were slightly more skeptical than their mothers and grandmothers. While they still voted for Harris in huge numbers, their "certainty to vote" was lower in pre-election polling. They were more likely to express frustration with both parties over issues like housing costs and the conflict in Gaza.

How many black women voted for kamala: The Actionable Takeaway

If you're looking at these stats to understand the future of American politics, here's the reality:

  1. Don't take the vote for granted. The "stepping back" sentiment is real. Political analysts like Dr. David Johns have pointed out that you can't just expect this 90%+ support every four years without addressing the specific economic anxieties of Black households.
  2. Look at the organizing model. The "Win With Black Women" calls, which raised over $1.5 million in just three hours after Harris announced her candidacy, are a blueprint for modern grassroots fundraising.
  3. Watch the 2026 midterms. The big question now is whether this group stays energized or if the "exhaustion factor" leads to a dip in turnout for the next cycle.

Black women didn't just vote for a candidate; they voted for a specific vision of the future. The numbers—that 92%—show a group that is more politically aligned and strategically focused than almost any other in the U.S.

If you want to track how these trends are shifting in real-time as we head toward the next election cycle, keep an eye on registration data from organizations like TargetSmart, which saw a massive surge in Black women registering to vote in the months leading up to November 2024. That energy is still there, but it’s becoming much more selective about where it’s spent.

To stay informed, you can track the official FEC (Federal Election Commission) filings for PACs focused on women of color to see where the "organizing power" is shifting for the 2026 midterms. Analyzing the state-level turnout data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Voting and Registration Supplement (usually released a few months after major elections) will also give you the final, verified word on exactly how many millions turned out.