In the waning days of the presidential campaign, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are courting Native American voters in states where their vote could swing some of the most hotly contested counties in the country
— Native American communities were decisive voting blocs in key states in 2020, and with the 2024 race remaining stubbornly close both campaigns have tried to mobilize Native voters in the final weeks of the presidential election.
But when it comes to messaging, the two campaigns could not be more different, many Native voters said. It’s been 100 years since Native Americans were given the right to vote, with the passage of the Snyder Act in 1924, and whichever campaign is able to harness their power in this election could swing some of the most hotly contested counties in the country.
In swing states like Arizona, North Carolina, Michigan, and Nevada, the candidates — particularly Vice President Kamala Harris — have been targeting Native Americans with radio ads and events on tribal lands featuring speakers like Bill Clinton and Donald Trump Jr.
Native American voters tend to favor Democrats, but they’re more likely to vote Republican than Latinos or African Americans, said Gabriel R. Sanchez, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He said they are one of the least partisan and youngest voting demographics in the country, often motivated by issues that directly impact their communities, like land rights and environmental protections.
In 2020, the Biden administration campaigned in several tribal nations in critical states like Wisconsin and Arizona, and precincts on tribal lands there helped narrowly tip the election for the Democrats. “Arizona was kind of like a textbook example of what that could look like if you make those early investments,” Sanchez said.
As part of a $370 million ad campaign released this month, including on several reservations, Harris said the U.S. should honor treaty rights and uphold tribal sovereignty. Crystal Echo Hawk, CEO of Illuminative, a nonprofit that works to increase the visibility of Native Americans, said those commitments, along with the economy and environmental protections, are the top issues Native voters have identified in Illuminative’s surveys.
Echo Hawk said those investments could pay off again for the Democrats. “I haven’t seen the same kind of targeted messaging and outreach from the Trump campaign,” she said. Harris also stands to inherit some of the goodwill left from the administrations of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, she said.
