Midterm campaign updates: GOP's Cheney endorses Ohio Democrat Tim Ryan for Senate

Black voters are often referred to as the backbone of the Democratic Party -- and as high-stakes midterm elections approach, campaigns are working to ensure that this key voting bloc turns out in full force.

In Georgia, where some Democrats have expressed fears that the party's gubernatorial candidate, Stacey Abrams, has hit a slump with Black male voters, Abrams' campaign has invested in outreach to Black men and other untapped voters of color.

"What we know is that Black voters are not deciding between whether they're going to vote for me or for [Gov. Brian] Kemp. They are deciding if they're going to vote for me or not vote," Abrams said on a call with Black journalists on Monday.

There are signs that Democrats, in Georgia and across the country, should be concerned about Black voter turnout. According to the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, 55% of Black voters said they intended to vote in comparison to 72% of white voters -- a result that advantages Republicans, whose support is strongest by far among white voters. Plus, Biden's strong approval with Black voters is at a career-low 31%, according to the same poll.

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–ABC News’ Averi Harper

In an exclusive interview set to stream Thursday on ABC News Live, Pennsylvania Senate hopeful Dr. Mehmet Oz is asked about the criticism that he is a "MAGA Republican," given his ties to former President Donald Trump.

"I think I'm a moderate leader -- but not passive. I mean I feel very strongly about the positions I have," Oz tells ABC News' Linsey Davis in a preview of the interview released Monday.

"I want to be able to bridge a gap that has become a chasm in America, one that has paralyzed our ability to move forward as a nation," Oz says in the clip. "And so, I have strong feelings about the things that I think are important about America. I suspect that most Americans share those family values."

The former TV host is running in one of the country's most closely watched Senate races, against Pennsylvania's Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.

They are seeking to replace Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, who is retiring.

Oz's full interview will stream on ABC News Live on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.

-- ABC News' Adam Carlson

Each campaign season is usually branded as a runway for the most consequential election of our time -- but when it comes to forecasting the trajectory of Black voters’ impact on long-term party wins, 2022 may indeed be key.

That's according to the NAACP, which along with HIT Strategies -- a public opinion research firm -- outlined several nuances within the Black voter bloc on a call with reporters on Monday afternoon. The most significant divergences appear to be among Black men and Black millennials, according to their analysis. That could pose challenges for Democrats, who have long depended on Black voters as a core part of their base.

“Millennials, like Black men, they feel like they are being ignored. They don't feel like this body of politics is representative or working for them in a way that even Gen Z feels different,” HIT Strategies CEO Terrance Woodbury said on the call.

HIT Strategies noted that, like other racial and ethnic groups, Black voters have a gender gap in their political views, with men are more likely to lean toward Republican candidates.

Although the margins aren’t huge -- Woodbury said Trump’s “bump” with Black male voters went from 13% in 2016 to 19% in 2020 -- they can be decisive in close races.

Woodbury said the top issues drawing Black male voters toward Republican candidates are economic policies and concerns about inflation.

“The ‘Trump bump’ was consistent not just with Donald Trump, but it carried down ballot and folks like David Perdue [in Georgia] and Thom Tillis [in North Carolina] also benefited from that,” he said in reference to 2020 Senate races.

“Had Black men voted for Cal Cunningham at the same rate as black women, Cal Cunningham would have had 242,000 more votes and would be a U.S. senator,” Woodbury said, referring to Tillis' Democratic challenger in 2020.

But the biggest “red flag” nuance among Black voters may be generational: Black millennials -- in parallel to the majority of millennials, regardless of race, according to HIT -- are going to be shaping American political parties in the years to come.

“Young Black voters are extremely cynical, extremely frustrated, not just with Democrats, not just with Republicans, not even just with politics -- they are cynical towards institutions that they felt like have failed them," Woodbury said. "At the top of that list is the Democratic Party. But they are not exclusive on that list."

“If we start to see [them] voting away from progressive policies and progressive politics, then you've got a much bigger problem as this generation becomes a larger voting bloc,” NAACP National Campaigns Director Phaedra Jackson added. (The NAACP is nonpartisan in political races.)

According to Woodbury, the best motivator for Black voters to cast ballots is linked to the perception of how much power they believe their vote holds, and that motivating factor was largely responsible for the huge turnout in Georgia in 2020.

For Democrats running this cycle, mobilization will be crucial.

“As Democrats put forth one of the most diverse tickets in the history of our politics, many of those [...] candidates will not have the same coalition as Joe Biden [in 2020]. Stacey Abrams, and Raphael, Warnock and Cheri Beasley will not do better than Joe Biden did with white seniors. And that is the imperative -- to run up the margins with Black voters and to return back to those 2012-level, 97% support amongst Black voters. We are not there yet,” Woodbury said.

-- ABC News' Alisa Wiersema

On Monday, the White House side-stepped the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll showing a clear majority of Democrats wanting the party to replace Joe Biden as its nominee for president in 2024 -- again repeating his intention to run for another term.

Asked by ABC Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega if Biden is concerned with a majority of Democrats wanting a change at the top of the ticket, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden's "focus is not on himself," but rather "continuing to deliver for the American people."

The poll, published Sunday, found that 56% of Democrats want the party to nominate someone other than Biden in 2024. His overall job approval numbers remain under 40%.
Biden's polling on the economy is also in trouble, with just 36% of Americans approving of how he's handling the issue. Pressed by Vega on whether there's anything the White House plans to do differently in the final stretch before the midterms, Jean-Pierre said administration officials will continue to "go out there" and talk about their wins in the past 19 months.

"I understand what you're saying about the president's numbers, but what we are going to focus on is how we are going to continue to deliver for the American people, especially at the most important things that matter to them," she said.

"When you think about Medicare, you think about Social Security, you think about the pieces of legislation that we have passed, they are very popular with the American people, with Republicans and Democrats. And so that is also important to note. So we're going to keep getting out there."

–ABC News' Justin Gomez