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NEWS/Vie Ctstlone $o«
Thursday, June 1,2006
Major political parties seek
more African Americans to
run for statewide offices
By Hazel Trice Edney
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
WASHINGTON
Competition between
Democrats and Republicans
to attract more black support
appears to be heating up as
at least four black
Republicans
are now nm-
ning for
statewide elec
tions and
Democratic
leaders say
they have triple
that many
“In the 1960s
and 1970s, it
was all about a place at the
table. But now, I think we
need to be talking about a
place on the ticket,” says
Democratic National
Committee Chairman
Howard Dean. The former
Vermont governor says he
believes whites wiU become
increasin^y willing to vote
for black candidates the more
they relate to the issues that
black candidates espouse.
“I think, both white pohti-
dans and black p>olitidans
have to understand that
there’s something new going
on in the country but we
aren’t there yet, we’re far
fiT3m it,” says. Dean, once a
front-runner in the 2004
Democratic Primary for pres
ident who was elected DNC
chairman February 12, 2005.
Having had Httle time to
recruit Blacks by deadlines
for Democratic primaries his
first year, after 15 months, he
says, he now boasts on what
he perceives as a healthy list
of Afidcan-American candi
dates. “I’m telling every
chairman of every party that
I want to see African-
Americans and Hispanics
andAsian-Americans, I want
to see diversity on your
statewide tickets.”
Democratic activists, while
remaining loyal to the party
have long criticized the party
as having taken African-
Americans for granted. For
example, during the 2004
Democratic Primary debates,
candidate A1 Sharpton
stron^y rebuked party lead
ers, saying,
‘We need to take the
Democratic Party home to
our daddies and discuss mar
riage or a break up.”
He accused the DNC, then
chaired by prolific fundraiser
Tferry McAuliffe, of being
more ^gressive to win swing
voters and right-wingers
than African-Americans.
Meanwhile, the Republican
Party has lagged grossly
behind Democrats when it
comes to Black support. In
the 2004 presidential elec
tion, only 11 percent of black
voters supported the GOP.
Republican Party
Chairman Ken Mehhnan
couldn’t be reached for com
ment, but, he acknowle(^ed
months ago that Republicans
had begun running black
candidates with hopes to
show African-Americans that
the party is serious about the
black vote.
“It is our job to continue to
grow our Party by reaching,
out to new Repubhcans, inde
pendents and discerning
Democrats,” Mehlman
declared in a speech to the
annual conference of the'
Conservative Pohtical Action
Committee in Washington,
D.C. in February “And by
continuing to bring new faces
and voices into our party in
the Hispanic and African
American communities, by
asking, ‘Give us a chance, and
we’ll give you a choice.’”
Many Black voters see little
reason to give the Repxiblican
Party a chance. On the most
recent NAACP civil rights
report' card in February, 98
percent of Repubhcans in the
House and Senate earned an
F, compared to only 2 pereent
of Democrats. The Bush
administration opposed two
affirmative action programs
at the University of
Michigan, including the uni
versity’s law school program,
which was ultimately upheld
by the U. S. Supreme Court
in 2003. Also, Bush’s appoint
ment of two far right
Supreme Court nominees.
Chief Justice John Roberts to
.replace the late Chief Justice
John Rehnquist and Justice
Samuel A. Alito Jr. to replace
retiring Sandra Day
O’Connor, ignored the pleas
of civQ r^hts leaders who
wanted more moderate jus
tices.
Republicans have attempt
ed to reach African-
Americans through pitches
about homeownership pi-o-
grams and urging African-
Americans to join the GOP as
a second pohtical option.
Some conservative Black
ministei*s have been won over
by Repubhcans pitching
moral issues, such as anti
abortion and opposition to
same sex marriages.
In recent years, both par
ties have increased attempts
to appeal to African-
Americans, with Democrats
boasting about their support
of affiimative action, oppos
ing radical right-wing judicial
appointments and opposing
the war in Iraq. Repubhcans
have emphasized opposition
to same sex marriages and
support of homeland security
and economic self-rehance.
Now, in a new attempt to
reach black voters. Black
Repiobhcans are running
serious races on statewide
tickets. On May 2, Ohio
Secretary of State J. Kenneth
Blackwell was picked by
Repubhcans as their guber
natorial candidate . over
Attorney Genial Jim Retro
56 percent to 44 parent. In
November, Blackwell 'will
challenge U.S. Rep. Ted
Strickland, who defeated for
mer state Rep. Bryan
Flannery in the Democratic
primary the same day
Blackwell played a major
roh in Bush’s controversial
win in Ohio in the 2004 elec
tion. He was sued after an
organization found tiiat Ohio
election officials had, in viola
tion of state law, informed for
mer felons that they could not
vote. As a result of the suit,
34,000 former felor^ were
notified that they had the
right to vote.
Voters also complained that
Blackwell failed to provide
enough voting machines,
causing some in Black and
Hispanic commrmities to
stand in lines for as lor^ as
10 hours. Also, 95,000 votes
were invahdated after being
wrongly placed in machines
by Hispanics who received no
assistance with their lan
guage difficulties.
Still, Bush’s ■win in Ohio is -
in part — attributed to a
Blackwell-led referendum to
prohibit same-sex marriage.
According to the Joint Center
for Political and Economic
Studies, a Washington, D.C.-
based tiiink tank, approxi
mately 16 percent of Ohio’s
black population (90,000 vot
ers) supported Bush.
In February Lynn Swann,
the former wide receiver for
the Pittsburg Steders, was
chosen by Republicans as the
Pardos nominee for
Pennsjivania’s governorship.
Recent polls show Gov. Ed
RendeU well ahead of Swann,
including a Quinnipiac
University poll
Showing him leading
Swann by as much as 22 per- ■
cent, with a margin of error of
only 3 percent.
Also, Maryland’s
Republican Lt. Gov. Michael
Stede is a leading candidate
for the U.S. Senate seat being
vacated by retiring Sen. Paul
Sarbanes (D).
Repubhcan Kay Coles
James, who has served in
several high-levd Repubhcan
Recipes and More At www.harristeeter.Gom
appointments, including for
mer director of the federal
Office of Personnel
Management in the Bush
administration, says the fact
that blacks who have already
won state pardy primaries
underscore the party’s seri
ousness about black candi
dates. StiU, she acknowledges
that Blacks are skeptical of
voting Republican.
‘You don’t have to give up
anything,” she says. “I think
that has to do with sort of the
stereotype that people have of
parties. It has to do with
stereotypes that people have
of conservatives or hberals
because, quite frankly, the
Republican Party is as
diverse in its opinions on
almost any issue that you
raise as the Democi'atic Party
is,” James says. “There are
black Republicans who are in
favor of affirmative; action
and who are against it. There
are pro-choicers and black
p-o-hfers who are Republican
and Democrat. I mean, you
can’t just make those sort of
broad, sweeping statements
any more. Tm not sure you
ever .could.”
Dean points to 13 black
Democrats running in
statewide races, but stresses
that the DNC does not
involve itself with, endorsing
or helping candidates to win
until after the primaries.
Therefore, blacks, often out-
spent by white Democrats,
are on then’ own in the pri
mary campaigns.
In (Georgia, Angela Moore is
running for secretary of state
and Mike Thrumimd for com
missioner of labor; in Iowa,
Sal Mohammad for govefnor;
in Illinois, Jesse White for
secretary of state; in
Massachusetts, Deval
Patrick for governor; in
Marjdand, Arihur Brown and
Stu Stuns for lieutenant gov
ernor and Kweisi Mfiime for
senate; in Michigan, Mary
Waters for secretary of state
and Amos Williams for attor
ney general; in Mississippi,
Erik Fleming for Senate; in
New York, David Paterson for
heutenant governor; in Ohio,
Ben Espy for supreme court
and Barbara Sjkes for audi
tor; In South Carolina,
Cherjd Footman for secretary
of state and in Tfennessee,
U.S. Rep. Harold Ford for the
Senate.
James predicts black candi
dates running in both parties
will empower black voters.
“I hope that the impact will
be an ‘Oh, shucks’ moment
for Democrats so that they
■will not take African-
Americans for granted,” she
says. ‘1 hope it wiU. be a wake
up call for Repubhcans that
say, ‘Oh Dear Lord, these peo
ple are here. We’re really
going to have to contend ■with
them.”’
Some doubt whether black
Repubhcan seeking
statewide office will translate
into more Black votes for the
GOP.
“It will not attract black vot
ers,” says University of
Maryland pohtical scientist
Ron Walters. “Blackwell is
the only one who has proven
that he can attract a sizable
share oftheblackvote.”
Walterspredicts that blacks
maybe divided if faced with a
race between a Black
Repubhcan and Democrat.
Currently, former NAACP
President and CEO Kweisi
Mfume is traihi^ U. S. Rep.
Benjamin Cardin for the
Democratic' nomination to
succeed retiring Sen. Paul
Sarbanes. But, if Mfume
wins the Sept. 12 Democratic
Primary he and Steele would
go head to head.
“Mfume has the hon’s share
of the black vote. But I think
if it came down to the two of
them, I think that race might
be eliminated as a factor and
the election would then be
fou^t out along the lines of
issues,” says Walters.
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