Concerns Among Muslim Leaders in Georgia Regarding Vice President Kamala Harris
Two weeks ago, a significant gathering of 15 influential Muslim religious and business leaders took place in an office space located in Dunwoody, Georgia, a suburb just north of Atlanta. The focal point of their discussion was none other than Vice President Kamala Harris. However, a prevailing sense of wariness permeated the atmosphere.
In Georgia, as in other parts of the nation, Vice President Harris’s standing among Arab American and Muslim voters—a demographic that has typically leaned Democratic—is increasingly tenuous. The Biden administration’s steadfast support for Israel amidst its ongoing military actions in Gaza and Lebanon has raised alarms about a potential decline in support for the Democratic ticket. This erosion could significantly impact Ms. Harris in pivotal battleground states like Michigan, where these voters have historically comprised a vital segment of the party’s electoral coalition.
With polls indicating a tight race against former President Donald J. Trump, Ms. Harris’s Muslim supporters in Georgia are mounting a frantic campaign to engage voters disillusioned by the escalating violence in the Middle East. During the gathering in Dunwoody, one attendee, eager to convey a crucial message, urged his peers to recognize and spread the idea that while their primary concern was the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the alternative under Mr. Trump and the Republican Party would be even worse.
Omar Ali, an Atlanta-based businessman who identifies as both Black and Muslim, articulated this sentiment: “We want them to move mountains for Gaza. They can’t do it in the way that we desire, but you can rest assured that we can achieve more with one particular party than the other. That party possesses more compassion than any other, and I’m referring to the Democratic Party.”
Democrats in Georgia have credited the state’s Muslim and Arab American electorate with playing a pivotal role in flipping the state during the 2020 presidential election, winning it by a narrow margin of fewer than 12,000 votes. Election data from that year indicated that approximately 57,000 Muslim and Arab American voters participated in the election. However, leaders of several Muslim organizations in Georgia now estimate that the actual number has surged to well over 100,000.
Many of these voters were propelled to the polls in the last presidential election largely due to their opposition to Mr. Trump, who implemented travel bans targeting several majority Muslim countries during his presidency. His anti-immigrant rhetoric has consistently included harsh criticisms aimed at individuals from the Middle East.
