Republicans can sustain the momentum gained with Black voters in the 2024 presidential election even without Donald Trump on the ballot in 2026, according to T.W. Shannon, a former chair of Black Voices for Trump and current Republican lieutenant governor nominee in Oklahoma.
Shannon believes that the Republican Party's platform and the Democratic Party's move towards the left will continue to attract Black voters. He pointed to Trump's performance in the 2024 election, where he secured 16% of the Black vote, nearly double his support in the previous presidential race, according to a Fox News Voter Analysis.
"It's because Donald Trump has transformed the Republican Party back into the working party," Shannon stated in an interview with Fox News Digital. "You see Democrats competing for the Black vote now. Something that you used to not see at all. They didn't have to, they just took it for granted."
He highlighted job creation and lower crime rates during the Trump administration as policies that benefit Black voters and their communities. Shannon also criticized policies advocated by groups like the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), citing potential tax increases, the abolition of the Senate, and disbanding the police as examples of proposals not well-received in the Black community.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) disputed Shannon's assessment. A DNC spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Black Americans will reject Trump's "billionaires-first, cost-raising agenda" and elect Democrats focused on lowering costs for working families. The spokesperson also noted the DNC's investment in reaching, registering, and mobilizing Black voters, contrasting it with the Trump administration's actions on civil and voting rights.
Shannon, a former Oklahoma House Speaker and the first African American to hold the office, is expected to win his race in the Republican-leaning state. He emphasized the opportunity to advocate for Oklahoma and the nation on a national stage.