How does race affect the election?

After Lenny McCallister, leader of the hip-hop young republicans, quoted Dr. Martin Luther King in an interview with CNN, “may we not live in a nation that judges a person by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character,” I realized that McAllister was correct when he was implying that race should not be a factor in a voter’s decision on November 4th. Sadly though, Americans as a whole suggest otherwise.

McCallister is a young, black Republican who leads an organization called “hip hop young republicans,” whom I met during the Republican National Convention. McCallister opened my eyes and allowed me to see past the stereotype that I had once created in my mind, “blacks vote democrat,” and ensured that I had a more educated view on the hip hop republican movement. He stated that there exist a difference between a black republican and a hip hop republican, “Hip-Hop Republicans grew up with the influence of hip-hop culture, and while black Republican is a label based solely on race, ‘Hip Hop Republican’ speaks to the existence of a group that has transcended race in many ways.” (See this website).

While McAllister’s passion to separate race from political party’s may be enough to inspire hope for the young voters of the future, I fear that his movement has not yet become influential enough to affect the issue of race in the upcoming presidential election. Whether it is blacks voting for Obama because he is black, or whites not voting for Obama because he is black, this election reminds us that race is still very much an issue.

With a black man strongly contending for president, it is hard, even for a “black republican” to vote for the republican candidate. On one side, there is not only the typical view that blacks will vote democrat, but also the view that all blacks will vote for Obama. Since 1964, the tendency for blacks to cast ballots in favor of the Democratic Party has become increasingly common; and with Barack Obama as a candidate in the 2008 presidential election, a larger number of African Americans will cast their vote for the democratic ticket than ever before. Great presidents such as FDR, Truman, and Kennedy are all Democratic presidents who are known for building a strong relationship between the blacks and the Democratic Party. Since these presidents, with the exception of the 1972, 1984, and the 1992 presidential elections, blacks have continued to give a minimum of 80% of their votes to the Democratic Candidate (See this website). With a voting history like this, is it any surprise to see that black voter turnout reached a high in the 2008 primaries with a candidate who is not only a democrat, but a black democrat? If nothing else, the democratic primary between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama proved race is still a factor when it comes to politics. Obama’s overwhelming support from the black vote in the primaries not only proved that Clinton did not receive the same support from this group as her husband did, but it showed how much influence a black candidate can have over the same group of voters. It makes me wonder whether Bill Clinton would have received as much support from the black community if Senator Obama was his opposition (See this website).

In an article in Essence Magazine, a number of Black Republicans spoke about the struggle of overcoming their internal desire to cast their vote for Obama simply because of his race, "As a Black man, it weighs heavily on me," says New Yorker Wendall Niles, of Obama's candidacy. "Politics is a part of my life, but being Black is my life." While Niles is trying to fight his urge of voting for Obama simply because of his Black identity, other Black Republicans such as Peter W.D. Bramble, Ph.D., prove the power that Obama has over Black voters is unbeatable. Even with his strong support of the Republican Ideologies, and his strong disgust with the thought of programs such as universal healthcare, Bramble says "I'm a Republican. I'm not changing my registration or my beliefs," he says. "But I'm voting for Obama. If a Black man becomes president of the United States of America, then Black people will stop singing, 'We shall overcome some day.' Symbolically, his victory would show them that they have overcome." (See this website).

No matter what the reason, Senator Obama has inspired Black voters from across the nation to cast their vote for the democratic ticket in the upcoming election.
While blacks voting for Obama simply because he is black may be one side of the race issue, there is a whole other side that may affect the presidential race just as much. While new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 85% of Likely voters say they are ‘willing’ to vote for a African American Candidate, this poll does not take into account the white voters who say they are ‘willing,’ but who are not actually ‘ready’ (See this website).
The hardest thing for pollster’s to poll for is racial attitudes and how it affects their behaviors, because while most people say that they are willing to vote for a black candidate in order to ensure to themselves and others that they are not racist by any means, their voting behavior may not correlate with what they say. According to an AP-Yahoo News poll, designed in partnership with Stanford University, without racial prejudices, Senator Barack Obama would receive about 6 percentage points more support. “The results suggest that 40 percent of white Americans hold at least a partly negative view toward blacks, including more than a third of white Democrats and independents. A small percentage of voters -- 2.5 percent of those surveyed -- said they may turn away from Obama because of his race” (See this website). Again, it is the same story as the black vote as it is for the white vote. Many whites will say that they are willing to vote for a black candidate, but will their actions speak louder than their words, or will they drown in a fear that is hidden deep within them?

Currently Obama is leading McCain by 89% to 5% among African American Voters (11% of likely voters), while McCain is leading Obama 52% to 42% among white voters (78% of likely voters) (See this website). With a record number of African American Delegate at the 2004 Republican National Convention, one would think that the republicans were doing a good job at galvanizing black support. The 2008 Republican National Convention proved otherwise with the lowest black representation in 40 year. The 36 African-American delegates in 2008 represented only 1.5 percent of the party’s total delegate count, that’s a 78.4 percent decline from 2004, when 164 black delegates participated at the Republican Convention. This is shocking, but what is more shocking is that nearly 25 percent of delegates attending the Democratic Party’s 2008 convention were African American. If the numbers at the convention are any proof of what is to come, the democratic nominee will sweep the African American vote without a problem (See this website).

But how will this affect the election? "The stakes are extremely high. In 2004, African Americans made up approximately 11 percent of the vote nationwide. If the percentage of African-Americans was a mere two-and-a-half percent higher at 13-and-a-half percent, Democrats would currently be running for reelection in 2008," he said. For example in the state of Ohio in 2004, Democrats lost by 2% or 100,000 votes. There were 270,000 unregistered African-Americans. So the African-American vote can absolutely make a difference in this election." (See this website). These are the exact kind of statistics Obama is hoping to change, and the kind of statistics that his campaign believes will help push him ahead of John McCain. With greater African American support, and a steady support from white democrats, Obama has the chance to win states that democrats have come close to in the past two elections, especially swing states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Florida. With the efforts of 3,000 volunteers helping young voters and black voters register, Obama also hopes to regain control of southern states with large black populations (See this website). With an increase of black voters, some statistics suggest that Obama can win states which have in the past, been won by Republican candidates. But, is this to much to ask of the citizens of America? Is Obama depending to much on his “get out the vote tactic” and not enough on winning the votes of people who are surely going to be at the polls on November 4th?

In the end I believe that race will indeed affect the election, because I believe that it already has. Never before has there been a strong black contester for president, which is why voter interest is sky rocketing. While blacks have proven their loyalty to the democratic ticket in past presidential elections, it has never been enough to strike Republicans as dangerous. While individuals like McCallister fight to find a sense of political independence free from his race, others seem less inclined, atleast in this election.