James' effort to motivate voters may prove a difference maker in the electionNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
LeBron James has "sought to combat voter suppression and mobilize voters through his group called 'More Than a Vote,'" and he is "testing his influence during this election season," according to Peter & Zillgitt of USA TODAY. But will this work "have a meaningful impact, specifically" on the Trump vs Biden presidential race? Trilogy Interactive Partner & digital campaigning expert Larry Huynh said, "Yes, of course. ... The work to mobilize important groups of voters in the Black community can have real impact on the race." UC-Davis professor Ethan Scheiner said that More Than A Vote "could make a difference in races throughout the country, and not just in battleground states such as his home state of Ohio." Scheiner: "If Biden is winning as much as the polls seem to be suggesting, it means all of the sudden Biden is competitive in states that ordinarily he wouldn’t be. And the things that LeBron’s group have been doing could help push Biden over the edge in those states" (USA TODAY, 11/3).
JAMES ENDORSES BIDEN: YAHOO SPORTS' Ryan Young notes James formally endorsed the Democratic Joe Biden-Kamala Harris presidential ticket in an "Instagram post on Monday night." James "had stopped short of officially endorsing Biden and Harris in the past, but his support of their candidacy was never in question." He wrote on the post, "One more day. Please ... we need EVERYTHING to change and it all starts tomorrow" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 11/3). In DC, Bieler & Boren note this comes as President Trump "threw another jab" at James during a campaign rally yesterday in Pennsylvania, and he "basked in his audience’s chants of 'LeBron James sucks!'" The chants came after Trump "was claiming that, thanks to him, news networks are 'getting the highest ratings in the history of television.'" Then, Trump again "claimed that the protests of racial injustice during the national anthem by players in the NBA and NFL have, in his view, badly damaged the popularity of those leagues." Trump: “How about basketball? How about LeBron?” He said of the NBA Finals, "I didn’t watch one shot -- I get bored" (WASHINGTON POST, 11/3).
