This fall, an African American or a woman could end a two-hundred year legacy of white men in the Oval Office. The possibility of electing a candidate from one of these traditionally underrepresented groups primed the 2008 election for controversy and prejudice, but the ongoing Democratic primary season has highlighted widespread support for both candidates that crosses lines of race and gender. At first glance, race seems to have become a non-issue as the primary process enters its home stretch. However, racial voting blocs are still extremely potent and influential, and the idea of a truly post-racial politics remains elusive in this historic moment.

A Colorblind Election?
According to Lois Romano, a political correspondent for the Washington Post, Senator Barack Obama (D-Il.) has consistently striven to run a non-racial campaign. She told the HPR that "Obama's campaign strategy has been to run an all-inclusive campaign and avoid making race an issue."

Most observers agree with Romano, yet race remains a salient topic in the media. Over a year ago TIME analyzed Obama’s biracial background in an article entitled "Is Obama Black Enough?" and concluded that "Obama's real problem isn't that he's too white – it's that he's too black." Washington Post Associate Editor Eugene Robinson agreed in an interview with the HPR, noting that "The issue of race is there and we would be naïve if we thought it would never be raised."

Romano contends that candidates’ race has been a significant issue in past elections. In surveys, "most voters have said they would consider a black candidate, but many pollsters have not trusted the results." This year, a pre-Super Tuesday ABC News poll found that voters were more likely to vote for a black candidate than someone who is over 72, twice-divorced, or a smoker. Thus far, votes and polls have been consistent in illustrating that voters’ decisions in 2008 are more likely to be based on personality and platform than a candidate’s race. Nonetheless, significant voting blocs are still divided along racial lines and while demographic trends in voting are changing, they are doing so homogeneously within groups.

Changing Racial Trends
Perhaps the most dramatic shift in support occurred in the African-American community. In November polls, over 50 percent of black voters pledged loyalty to Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), but Super Tuesday told a different story as 80 percent of African Americans cast their ballots for Obama.

Various media sources claim race became a more salient issue for African Americans after Clinton's controversial comments on Martin Luther King, Jr. in January. In an HPR interview, David Bositis, a senior research associate at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, commented, "The Clinton campaign decided to introduce race after she lost Iowa…to try and fan ethnic disputes." Bositis contends her comments and intentions offended many African-Americans, causing their allegiance to waiver. Other experts argue these changes are simply further evidence of Obama's appeal as a post-racial candidate. After proving himself as a viable national contender by winning in Iowa, a largely white state, Obama gained significant credibility in the eyes of African-American voters.

The Latino Question
The Latino vote has been of significant interest to the Democrats due to large numbers of eligible Latino voters in delegate-packed states, and this demographic has consistently demonstrated strong support for Clinton, largely thanks to the policy legacy of the previous Clinton administration. Furthermore, “brown-black divide” has become a political catchphrase as many contend that a history of strained race relations between these minority groups has made Latinos reluctant to vote for Obama. However, trends among Latino voters and their overall impact on the election are still far from clear. Although Clinton’s strong Latino support was instrumental in her victory in Texas on March 4, Obama edged her among Latinos in Virginia on Feb. 12, and other contests showed converging margins of Latino support. A general demographic trend suggested by the recent primaries is that Obama has picked up support among varied voting blocs as a result of his momentum and widespread appeal as a viable candidate. While Obama’s support may transcend racial lines, to discount the impact of race in 2008 is to ignore the impact of racially based voting coalitions on the election. As Robinson concludes, "We've come some distance…but I don't know if we are truly post-racial yet." ]]>http://hprsite.squarespace.com/towards-a-post-racial-042008/rss-comments-entry-1788470.xml