Election Update on the Black Vote and Other Competitive Races
Election Update on the Black Vote and Other Competitive Races
By David A. Bositis
August 21, 2006
Connecticut
Senator Joseph Lieberman lost to anti-war challenger Ned Lamont in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary in Connecticut 52 to 48 percent. Lieberman has often clashed with individual members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA), as well as Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton campaigned for Lamont; Representative John Lewis campaigned for Lieberman. According to the exit polls, Lamont ran well with black voters; he received 55 percent of their votes compared to only 41 percent received by Lieberman.
Georgia
Representative Cynthia McKinney lost her run-off to former DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson on August 8—59 to 41 percent. While the media played up an incident with a Capitol Hill policeman and her outspokenness as the cause for defeat, throughout the campaign there were reports of Republicans and white anti-McKinney organizations supporting Johnson in the contest. And the contest was, in fact, determined largely along racial lines. According to the preliminary analysis of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, which opposed McKinney’s re-election, McKinney captured 75 percent of the black vote in her district, while Johnson won 95 percent of the white vote. There were many more white voters than would be expected in a Democratic run-off in a black majority district, and clearly they determined the outcome.
Massachusetts
The most recent polls from Massachusetts show Deval Patrick still leading the race for the Democratic nomination for governor in Massachusetts; however, the race is tightening. Patrick is polling at 35 percent, while venture capitalist Chris Gabrieli is in second place with 30 percent and Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly is in third with 27 percent. In the general election match-up, Patrick leads Republican Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healy 39 to 29 percent.
Ohio
Republican Secretary of State Ken Blackwell has lost ground to his opponent Representative Ted Strickland (D) in Ohio. Recent polls show Blackwell trailing by 15-20 points.
Pennsylvania
Republican gubernatorial nominee Lynn Swann is trailing Governor Ed Rendell by 50 to 40 percent in the most recent polls in Pennsylvania.
Nationwide
In the most recent AP-Ipsos poll, voters preferred Democrats over Republicans by a dramatic 18 points, 55 to 37 percent. President Bush’s poor job approval rating of 33 percent was better than the 29 percent job approval rating the public gave Congress.