Black voters stood with Biden in 2020. Four years later, he needs their help again

Running a small business has been a “special experience” for Mimi Striplin, the 31-year-old owner of The Tiny Tassel in Charleston.

Striplin started her jewelry company nine years ago and opened her first brick-and-mortar storefront in 2021, where she also sells whimsical clothing designed by her mother and goods made by other Black women-owned businesses. Her local community has helped uplift her business, she said, but she’s also experienced the hard times that come with entrepreneurship, especially now.

When she was invited to meet with President Joe Biden a few weeks ago as part of a small business roundtable ahead of the state’s February 3 primary, she had a simple message for him: See us.

“I wanted him to think about faces like mine when he is speaking on policies and really moving things,” Striplin, who is also Asian American, told CNN.

To win reelection this year, Biden will need Black voters like Striplin – who voted for him in the last presidential election and plan to support him again – to rebuild the coalition that helped propel him to the White House in 2020.

South Carolina’s primary will be the first opportunity Black voters have to voice their support – or displeasure – with Biden since that election.

“I think we’ll get a real chance to see where Joe Biden is, and also get a real chance to see what messages have resonated from the Biden-Harris administration,” said Antjuan Seawright, a South Carolina-based Democratic strategist and close ally of Rep. Jim Clyburn.

It’s a challenging path. Biden’s net approval rating has been negative for more than two years. Polls have shown former President Donald Trump beating Biden in key swing states in a hypothetical rematch. And there are signs that Trump, the…