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PHILADELPHIA - Determined to avoid any erosion in support, Sen. John Kerry is reaching out to black voters, a core Democratic constituency, in the campaign's final month, meeting with black religious leaders and traveling with Jesse Jackson.
A strong voter turnout by African-Americans is crucial to the presidential nominee's goal of ousting President Bush on Nov.2. Kerry's recent contacts have focused on Ohio and Pennsylvania, two states teetering in a virtual tie.
In Philadelphia, Kerry held a long, private meeting Monday with religious leaders, mostly from Ohio and Pennsylvania, who asked for inclusion and influence in his administration, which he obliged.
"If you make me president of the United States, I will do my best to even do better than Bill Clinton did to make sure the government of the United States looks like the face of America," Kerry said.
He told them that urban economic development would be on the agenda for his first 100 days in office. The religious leaders agreed strongly with his assessment that money spent in Iraq is money not spent at home, participants said.
A pamphlet detailed his promises for civil rights, economic opportunity, education, health care and commitment to Africa.
Kerry has solid support among black voters, though not quite as much as Democrat Al Gore in 2000.
An AP-Ipsos poll taken in mid September found that 80 percent of black registered voters supported Kerry, while 7 percent supported Bush. Exit polls showed Gore winning 90 percent of the black vote four years ago.