The Final Countdown to Elections: Will African-Americans Be The Deciding Factor Again?

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Black voters have the potential to pull their weight in 20 House of Representative elections—which will mostly be in southern states—14 Senate races, and 14 governor elections. These high priority states include Maryland, Illinois, California, North Carolina, Florida and New York.

Even though many still support President Obama, some speculate that this support may not translate to other Democratic candidates. However, in Bositis’ study, “In Anticipation of November 2: Black Voters and Candidates and the 2010 Midterm Elections,” released earlier this month, he writes that in 1986, two years after the Reverend Jesse Jackson’s run for the presidency, a program to register and mobilize Black voters for the midterm elections, named Operation Big Vote, resulted in a strong Black turnout.

Bositis also considers the midterm election in 1998, where Black voters turned out in droves to support President Bill Clinton, who was under attack from Congressional Republicans at the time, much like the current president. History appears to be repeating itself. “There’s a lot at stake,” says Steve Walker, National African American Vote Director & Southern Region Field Director for Organizing For America, a project of the Democratic National Committee.

He references the progress that the president and Congress have made over the last 18 months. Nationwide, over 111 million middle class families have received a tax cut through the Recovery Act. In addition, approximately 3 million jobs have been saved due to the Recovery Act. There are now 5,615,000 Americans with pre-existing conditions that can no longer be denied coverage by health insurance companies, according to the progress website.

“People understand the president and democrats are giving them things that benefits and helps their lives every day,” says Walker. “It’s about keeping this country moving forward.” Of course, no one can say for sure what the final outcome on November 2nd will be yet. But everyone will be watching to see if African Americans will exceed expectations at the polls.

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