Todd Spoth for The New York Times HOUSTON — A groan erupted at a debate watch party at Texas Southern University last week as former vice president Joseph R. Biden Jr. got a question about slavery and racism and gave an answer about Venezuela and record players . But amid that exasperation, some students channeled their inner Beltway operatives and began a targeted rapid-response campaign. Tyler Smith, 19, texted his grandmother after the debate, hopeful that Mr. Biden’s meandering answer may have swayed her from supporting him. Amaya St. Romain, 19, mounted a three-day lobbying blitz on her mother and her great-grandmother, making sure they had seen the former housing secretary Julián Castro ’s criticisms of Mr. Biden onstage. In meme-speak , the efforts amounted to Killmonger, the villain in the Black Panther movie, challenging the people of Wakanda: “Is this your king?” “I think I’m definitely influencing them,” Ms. St. Romain said of her family members. “But my dad is definitely still pro-Biden. And I don’t really argue with him.” If Mr. Biden, 76, is going to win the Democratic nomination , it is likely to be because of the support of older black voters , a key […]

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