More African Americans run for statewide office
By Hazel Trice Edney
Of the NNPA
WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Competition between Democrats and Republicans to attract more black support appears to be heating up as at least four black Republicans are now running for statewide elections 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.
“I think both white politicians and black politicians have to understand that there’s something new going on in the country, but we aren’t there yet, we’re far from it,” said Dean, who was elected DNC chairman February 12, 2005.
Having had little time to recruit blacks by deadlines for Democratic primaries in his first year, after 15 months, he says, he now has a healthy list of African-American candidates.
“I’m telling every chairman of every party that I want to see African Americans and Hispanics and Asian Americans,” Dean said. “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. During the 2004 Democratic Primary debates, candidate Al Sharpton strongly rebuked party leaders, saying, “We need to take the Democratic Party home to our daddies and discuss marriage or a break up.”
He accused the DNC, then chaired by Terry McAuliffe, of being more aggressive to win swing voters and right-wingers than African Americans.
New leadership at the DNC may make a difference, according to state Rep. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, who has worked very closely with Dean and has his ear.
“Gov. Dean actually gets it – which is to say, white men aren’t the only people who compose the fabric of the nation and should not feel as they have a birthright to control every major statewide elected position,” Chappelle-Nadal said.
“What Dean is not saying is that he knows of many progressive African Americans across the nation that are winning seats in primarily white districts at the local level, and the trend is ever increasing. This is great news for the DNC, but there happens to be a disconnect at times between the desire of the DNC and state parties around the nation.”
Meanwhile, the Republican Party has lagged grossly behind Democrats when it comes to black support. In the 2004 presidential election, only 11 percent of black voters supported the GOP.
Republican Party Chairman Ken Mehlman couldn’t be reached for comment, but he acknowledged months ago that Republicans had begun running black candidates with hopes to show African Americans that the party is serious about the black vote.
Many black voters see little reason to give the Republican Party a chance. On the most recent NAACP civil rights report card in February, 98 percent of Republicans in the House and Senate earned an F, compared to only 2 percent of Democrats.
The Bush administration opposed two affirmative action programs at the University of Michigan, including the university’s law school program, which was ultimately upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Also, Bush’s appointment of two far-right Supreme Court nominees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., ignored the pleas of civil rights leaders who wanted more moderate justices.
Republicans have attempted to reach African Americans through pitches about homeownership programs and urging African Americans to join the GOP as a second political option. Some conservative black ministers have been won over by Republicans pitching moral issues.
Now, in a new attempt to reach black voters, black Republicans are running serious races on statewide tickets.
On May 2, Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell was picked by Republicans as their gubernatorial candidate over Attorney General Jim Petro, 56 percent to 44 percent. In November, Blackwell will challenge U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, who defeated former state Rep. Bryan Flannery in the Democratic Primary the same day.
Blackwell played a major roll in Bush’s controversial win in Ohio in the 2004 election. He was sued after an organization found that Ohio election officials had, in violation of state law, informed former felons that they could not vote. As a result of the suit, 34,000 former felons 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 communities to stand in lines for as long as 10 hours. Also, 95,000 votes were invalidated after being wrongly placed in machines by Hispanics who received no assistance with their language 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, approximately 16 percent of Ohio’s black population (90,000 voters) supported Bush.
In February, Lynn Swann, the former wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was chosen by Republicans as the party’s nominee for Pennsylvania’s governorship. Recent polls show Gov. Ed Rendell well ahead of Swann.
Maryland’s Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Steele is a leading candidate for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D).
Republican Kay Coles James, who has served in several high-level Republican appointments, including former director of the federal Office of Personnel Management in the Bush administration, says the fact that blacks have already won state party primaries underscores the party’s seriousness about black candidates.
“You don’t have to give up anything,” she says.
“Quite frankly, the Republican Party is as diverse in its opinions on almost any issue as the Democratic 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 Pro-Lifers who are Republican and Democrat.”
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 outspent by white Democrats, are on their own in the primary campaigns.
In Georgia, Angela Moore is running for secretary of state and Mike Thrumund for commissioner of labor; in Iowa, Sal Mohammad for governor; in Illinois, Jesse White for secretary of state; in Massachusetts, Deval Patrick for governor; in Maryland, Arthur Brown and Stu Stims for lieutenant governor and Kweisi Mfume for senate; in Michigan, Mary Waters for secretary of state and Amos Williams for attorney general; in Mississippi, Erik Fleming for Senate; in New York, David Paterson for lieutenant governor; in Ohio, Ben Espy for supreme court and Barbara Sykes for auditor; In South Carolina, Cheryl Footman for secretary of state and in Tennessee, U. S. Rep. Harold Ford for the Senate.
James predicts black candidates 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. “I hope it will be a wake up call for Republicans that say, ‘Oh, Dear Lord, these people are here. We’re really going to have to contend with them.’”
Chappelle-Nadal doubts that will be the end result of an increasing presence of blacks on both tickets.
“Many Republicans are disenchanted with their own party, which is filled with arrogant heartless monsters,” Chappelle-Nadal.
“So, as Democratic African Americans start running for higher offices, with their common-sense approach and message of renewal, healthy communities and self-respect, some Republicans will finally have the opportunity to come back home to the Democratic party.”