By AFRO Staff
Former Congressional Black Caucus aides have launched a new super PAC aimed at mobilizing Black voters with an eye toward reclaiming Democratic control of the House. Should that happen, Capitol Hill could see the nation’s first Black Speaker of the House.
The Rolling Sea Action Fund, named for lyrics in the Black national anthem, plans to raise and invest more than $10 million in advertising, campaigns, grassroots organizing and other efforts in the 2024 election cycle. Its focus will be on swing seats where Black turnout could decide the outcome.
Niccara Campbell-Wallace, former political director of the CBC PAC and head of the new super PAC, told The Hill that the group recognizes Black voters as the “backbone” of the Democratic Party.
“When Black voters turn out, they turn out, and they fight for democracy,” Campbell-Wallace said. “This organization shares the mission and goals of the CBC PAC, which is focused on recruitment. This will be an avenue to really, really target folks in battlefield districts that are crucial for us to take back the House in 2024.”
Despite the pivotal role of Black voters in the fates of the Democratic Party, it has long been criticized for taking that electorate for granted, with candidates often visiting Black communities only in the leadup to elections.
Campbell-Wallace said her group, however, will be conducting consistent and continual engagement in Black communities.
“With this always-on engagement strategy, we’re recognizing and applauding and making sure we’re going to the folks who, time and time again, turn out for Democrats and making sure we’re listening to them ― going to the community, being on the ground, really being a listening ear, versus telling people how to live their lives in their own communities,” Campbell-Wallace told the Huffington Post.
