From Barack Obama ’s election as president to a white Congressman fending off African-American challengers in a majority-black district, have Americans moved beyond race as a determining factor in their vote choice?
A couple of weeks ago, Tennessee Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen , the white, Jewish incumbent, won re-nomination over former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton, who is African American. The district has a black voting age population of 59 percent and the percentage of black voters was even higher in the Democratic primary, but Cohen still prevailed with 79 percent.
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“I don’t believe there’s a post-racial America. Not even close,” said Dr. David Bositis, a long-time scholar of black politics and voting at The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.
This article was previously available at rollcall.com.
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