‘Poor People’s Campaign’ eyes low-income voters in Kentucky, other states

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) – A campaign inspired by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s last organizing effort says new data suggest low-income voters in key states could swing some U.S. Senate races.

The Poor People’s Campaign said Tuesday it’s using the data to pressure candidates to focus on poverty and encourage poor and low-income people in 13 states to register to vote.

The study by Columbia School of Social Work assistant professor Robert Paul Hartley found that low-income eligible non-voters make up about one-fifth of the total electorate in states like Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, and New Mexico.