Race Key in Primaries, but Democrats Question Its Role in a McCain-Obama Election
Barack Obama never wanted his candidacy to be about race, but an extraordinary racial gap appeared to play a decisive role in his big North Carolina victory Tuesday.
According to exit polling in the Tar Heel State, Obama got 92 percent of the African-American vote — a record percentage for him in the Democratic primaries. Blacks made up a third of the state’s electorate.
Hillary Clinton’s continued advantage over Obama among white voters — who made up 62 percent of the total and voted 60 to 36 percent for her over Obama — was no match for the solid backing the Illinois senator got from blacks.
In Indiana, which has a much smaller African-American population at 15 percent, the story was much of the same. There, Obama won 92 percent of the African-American vote, and Clinton won 60 percent of white voters, who comprised 81 percent of the vote.
Exit polling indicated that race wasn’t the only factor that helped Obama narrow Clinton’s lead in Indiana and propel his win in North Carolina. He cut into her own constituencies — like lower-income voters, Catholics and those who said the economy was their most pressing issue.
The controversy surrounding Obama’s former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, weighed on the minds of some voters. In both Indiana and North Carolina, nearly half the voters said the Wright issue was important to them, and a majority of those voters went for Clinton.
Bob Beckel, Democratic strategist and FOX News contributor, said Obama took a hit because of his former pastor in the Pennsylvania primary two weeks ago, but he believes the impact has reached its peak.
“I think it’s overstated,” he said of the race issue — whether it be the Wright factor or even the racial gap.
Beckel said blacks no doubt rallied behind Obama, especially after what he called the glut of attacks on the candidate in recent weeks, but he does not think the white-black divide will affect the general election.
“They’re talking about how he doesn’t get the white, working-class voters,” said Beckel, pointing out how Clinton attracted many Democrats on the themes of the economy, criticism of the Bush White House and campaigning on heartland values.
“These people went for that message, and they aren’t going to vote for John McCain in the fall,” he said.
Despite half the voters saying the Wright issue was important to them, a majority still said that Obama “shares their values,” an indication that he can not only cross racial lines, but isn’t as alien to Democrats as his opponents had painted him out to be, Beckel added.
“If Wright was going to be an issue, then where it would have shown up is in the ’shares their values’ question,” he said.
Undecided superdelegate Muriel Offerman, of Cary, N.C., said she had wondered if the Wright controversy could have cost Obama her state and still questions what the racial divide will mean in the fall.
“This week I wasn’t sure how this was going to shake out because of the Jeremiah Wright thing and because President Clinton had been here so much,” she said in a telephone interview from her home, where she was watching coverage of Obama’s victory on television. Former President Bill Clinton visited small towns across North Carolina in support of his wife, including nine stops on the eve of the election.
“People want change and I think North Carolina is like some of the other states, that it’s just time for a change,” Offerman said. But she said Obama’s racially lopsided victory “is certainly a concern. And I think we all have our work cut out for us.”
FOX News’ Kelley Beaucar Vlahos and The Associated Press contributed to this report
Voting for someone with the same skin color is not racist.
Refusing to vote for someone with a different skin color, solely because of the skin color, that is racist. Thinking that a person with a different skin color is less qualified because of his skin color, that is racist.
I think the majority of white blue collar voters are not racist voters, but the future will have to proof this.
I don’t think you can say the many black voters now supporting Obama are all racist. They have voted in huge numbers for white candidates before, that must be sufficient prove.
Even more, not so long ago they favored Hillary above Obama, and allthough they didn’t know Obama well that time, they surely knew he was black.
Scott:
your analysis plays both ways the voting is not over, Clinton’s popular vote might be better than BO’s when it is all done if Fl/MI is added, so she would also have a disenfranchised base also and you would not be able to discount her backers; either way the party is in trouble because BO can not carry white women/men , latinos, seniors, blue collar workers and there are a large amount of young voters in Hillary’ s base as well as new voters. And the AA base line is is not that large compared to these other demograhics in fact it is the lowest. Remember most of those votes were before the BO troubles and that might change in the GE and the Reps will go back over to their party .
Either way there will be upsetment and the party should look for the stronger candidate and BO is not that person in my opinion.
Yes we Democrats have our work cut out for us. Can Obama beat McCain without the white vote. Dont think so! Hillary knows that and so does Obama. So it sounds to me that Obama better go with Hillary if he expects to win. If not we will have 4 more years of the Republicians in office. Wake up people! Obama will lose.
The Democratic Party will never come together after the primaries. The base of the Democratic
Party has serious concerns about Obama, his inexperience, his associations, and his political pandering to certain politically targeted segments of the Democratic party. By his pandering, he has divided the party by race, gender, age, and ethnic group. The tactics of his campaign has divided the Democratic Party and at this point it is inevitable that 50% of Clinton supporters will vote for McCain. The percentage will probably go higher as November approaches.
Do you REALLY think Clinton can win the nomination if Obama’s base sees the nomination as being stolen from them.
Obama has received 16,844,734 votes.
You talk about disenfranchising Michigan and Florida, and what a BAD idea it is for the Democrat’s chance of winning, well see if you can win if you disenfranchising 16,844,734 people.
Clinton will lose the black vote, the new voters, the college educated.
Clinton CAN’T win if she steals the nomination.
In regards to the Rev. Wright issue, Obama does not share the same beliefs as he has said over and over again. So why is there an issue. Is this best the Clinton supporters can come up …very weak. We can assume the Republicans will try the same attack. People are smart enough to realize that just because you go to church you don’t always do what the Pastors say other wise we would all be Saints.
he can’t beat mccain. hillarys base is catholics, seniors, and blue collar. you need this base to win a democratic election. obama can not reach this base. stay in this race hillary!
Did Obama really not want it a race candidacy? When will excuses cease to be the power to eliminate Obama’s established history of action.
I think Obama is using race to his advantage. I believe he decided to run for president (after only a few years ago saying he himself didn’t have enough experience and would unequivocally NOT be running for president!) - because he believes he, as a black man, would be able to win over a white women. I highly doubt Barack would be running for President if it were solely against a white Dem.
Right. Race is not an issue. That’s why the voter rolls will be swelled with more black voters than ever in history and nearly 100% of them will vote for Obama.
Thats racism in voting, folks.