Will Kerry do as well as Gore among African American voters?

[fujiyama]

Gore did amazingly well (some might even say surprisingly well) among African American voters, considering he got around 85-90% of them. I think Gore's numbers were even better than Clinton in this group, who is often referred to as the first black president. Bush got a measely 9% or so. The GOTV among these groups was great, and that's why many of the polls that showed democrats trailing in many swing states were way off.

Can Kerry do just as well? He has a strong record with civil rights, etc. (disregarding the PATRIOT ACT vote). The only problem is some say he is aloof. He also comes from a very wealthy background (granted Gore also came from a privaleged background). Will this matter? Does the "Bush is strong on defense" BS resonate with blacks? I remember seeing some polls that showed blacks being much more skeptical about the war than whites and other groups.

Also, we all know about the mess in FL (and possibly in TN and some other places), where blacks were turned away from polls, voter rolls purged, and ultimately failed punch card ballots, etc. It's amazing how much shit they got away with the last election.

Is there anger still? Once I heard that one woman became so cynical, she asked what's the point of voting, if it's not going to be counted.

[JI7]

1. yes

it's one of the reasons he did so well in the primaries. also, he has a long standing involvement in the minority communities helping get programs started where young people can have something to do and some place to go. one guy who was in that attended a kerry event and broke down and started crying telling about how much it helped him.

i should add, not just black, but all minorities.

[fujiyama]

2. Well

I noticed he did well in the primaries among African Americans. I hope that's indicitive. In some ways, I think Edwards would be especially helpful here because of his amazing campaign skills and his ability to connect with people.

[JI7]

4. Edwards would help in getting conservative leaning voters out

Kerry has no problem with the democratic base of the party. in south carolina ,edwards' birth state, while edwards won by a large amount. the african american vote was almost split. kerry did very well among women also and older voters. edwards does well among conservative leaning white voters and that's where kerry needs a little help.

[JI7]

3. check this out

<Exit polls also showed Kerry's appeal with key demographic groups, including African-Americans, veterans and seniors.

Kerry ran stronger among black respondents in Virginia than in Tennessee, the exit polls showed. In Virginia, more than two-thirds said they voted for him, and in Tennessee slightly less than half said they did. In fact, in both states, a higher proportion of African-Americans told exit pollsters they voted for him than did whites. >

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/02/10/elec04.prez.issues/

the above applied to wisconsin, georgia and most other states.

[mobuto]

5. No he won't

I think he'll do better. Kerry actually has a base in the African American community - African American support in the South went heavily for Kerry in the primaries. In Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvanioa and other rust belt swing states with large black populations, turn-out should be very high. Bush has angered a great many in the community, it seems.

[doubles]

6. Yes, without a doubt!