ROLE OF BLACK VOTERS IN CHOOSING JOE BIDEN AS A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE 2020
Posted: January 4th, 2023
ROLE OF BLACK VOTERS IN CHOOSING JOE BIDEN AS A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE 2020
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Role of Black Voters in Choosing Joe Biden as a Presidential Candidate
Introduction
The U.S. will hold its 59th presidential election on November 3, 2020, and as always, it is expected that Americans will get the chance to elect a new president and vice president of their choice, or reelect Donald Trump and Mike Pence. The series of presidential primaries and caucuses started in February and will continue until August 2020. The nomination process is a vital procedure and act as indirect elections because it is at this stage that voters elect delegates who represent their parties during the general election. Joe Bidden, the former U.S. Vice President, became the Democrat’s favorite candidate in the primaries after Senator Bernie Sanders ceased his bid on April 8, 2020. The victor of the highly anticipated elections will be inaugurated on January 20, 2021, and will assume power for the next four years. The study pays particular attention to the support Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, receives from the African-American population, and examines to what extend blacks prefer him by looking at the support he got at the primaries in areas inhabited by more black people. A critical analysis of the results from the nomination process indicates that whereas Biden managed to secure more votes in states with more African Americans while Sanders got more votes with more white Americans that were not the case in all situations, thereby showing how people have varying views when it comes to selecting leaders. Despite the poor start, or a supposed slow beginning in the Democratic presidential primaries, Bidden was effectively able to win the Democratic nomination, majorly because he received the support of black voters.
Literature Review
Mr. Biden hopes that his success as the Democrat nominee and president of America will all depend on the loyalty the blacks will have on the Democratic Party as they have always did for the significant part of American history. Based on the overwhelming support he and Obama received during the previous reign from the African American voters, Biden said at a conference that if the Democrats want an appropriate candidate who is a true and lifelong Democrat, then they have to join the team (Herndon, 2020). Biden constantly reminds his black supporters that together they can win big, but only if they walk hand in hand.
Biden managed to acquire more support during the primaries because of the possibilities that he would appoint a black woman to serve as the vice president who will play a fundamental function in safeguarding their desires and interests. Biden is already dedicated to selecting a woman vice president, and he and his team have severally identified two black women as potential candidates – Democratic Party nominee for governor of Georgia in 2018, Stacey Abrams and Senator Kamala Harris, and have also considered several white women, especially Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Minnesota’s Senator Amy Klobuchar (Herndon, 2020). The pressure to pick a black woman for vice president is so high that some argue that he should not take it for granted. African Americans believe that candidates such as Ms. Abrams and Ms. Harris could sensitize essential Democratic constituents such black and young voters, as well as women (Herndon, 2020). The blacks feel that selecting the black woman as running mate will improve the enthusiasm of the black vote, and would be essential in protecting their interests in a society where they have lived under the dominance of the white regime for more than a century.
So far, Biden receives overwhelming support of several black leaders, which helped him emerge victorious at the primaries. South Carolina’s Representative and former House Assistant Minority Leader, Jim Clyburn and Donna Brazile who had served as the chair of Democratic Party are some of the prominent and influential black leaders supporting Biden’s presidential bid. Many anticipate that with Clyburn’s support, it is highly likely that Biden will get the support of most of the blacks. Paz and Stevens regard Clyburn as possibly the highest-ranking black in Congress and one of the most outstanding political figures in the politics of South Carolina (Paz & Stevens, 2020). Clyburn said while endorsing Biden that “I put my vote for Joe Biden and the rest of California residents should follow the suit and vote the candidate as well. Clyburn who spoke while Biden looked on further said that “I know the former vice president, and we all know him. But most fundamentally, Biden knows us all” (Paz & Stevens, 2020).The announcement by Clyburn did not come as a surprise because he has always supported the Democratic Party, but the endorsement seemed to have a significant impact the residents of South Carolina voted in the primaries several days later. Biden while approaching South Carolina borrowed on his strengths of his tens-of-years long strong relationship in the state and on his stable ties with black electorates to triumph over the other places, gaining more than 48% of all counties in South Carolina (Paz & Stevens, 2020). Most of the support Biden gets from black leaders and civilians come from major black urban centers such as Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia and Milwaukee. The huge support Biden gets from the black communities illustrates why the leader failed to perform well in the states dominated by whites during the primaries. The immense support and endorsement from some of the influential political leaders from the black community suggests that he has the support of the African Americans not only during the nomination process, but also in the general elections.
Some scholars argue that the overwhelming support Biden received from the black community forced other competitors to give up in the struggle and end up supporting his bid for the top office in the country. Graham describes how the rest of the Democratic competitors in the primaries, including Tom Steyer, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar did not willingly end their campaigns to be nominated as Democratic candidate, but the power of the black voters brought them to a halt (Graham, 2020). According to Graham, the black voters in South Carolina did what many people had projected for many months in the initial primaries in the South by voting unanimously for Biden (Graham, 2020). In one day, Biden’s advanced his delegate count, improved his dwindling campaigns and wittingly convinced both Klobuchar and Buttigieg not only to halt their ambitions to ascend to the White House, but also to support him while approaching the Super Tuesday. Biden’s calls seemed not be in vain because after the elections, it emerged that he had acquired at least 65% of the black vote, almost 51 points more than his closest rival, Bernie Sanders.
Critics, however, question whether the overwhelming support Biden receives from the African-American population would enable the candidate ascend to the presidency. Mrs. Clinton’s failure to secure the presidential seat and the little turnout of black voters during the 2016 presidential elections raises doubts whether the support would push the candidate to power (Herndon, 2020). Talk show host and civil rights activist, Mr. Sharpton thinks that it is highly likely as already demonstrated in the primaries that the blacks will support Mr. Biden in the forthcoming election, but the concern is turnout. Based on the black voter turnout rate in the 2016 presidential election, which was the initial decline in the last two decades, Biden’s team must really look into the matter (Herndon, 2020). The black voter turnout dropped by nearly 7% than the records high of Obama’s reelection in 2012, as well as the black’s share of the electorate which dropped from 13% in 2012 to 12% in the 2016 election, a disparity of more than 1.5 million African American voters, based on the findings of Ted Johnson, who works as a senior employee at the Brennan Center for the Justice (Herndon, 2020). Johnson has vast knowledge and has performed numerous researches on how the electorates’ race influence their voting pattern and behaviors.
Many scholars believe that unless Biden really chooses a black woman who can act as a real leader, especially during this time that the Covid-19 pandemic is making things more difficult, the choice might not really have significant impact on his election. Biden, therefore, must not just rush into choosing a candidate simply because he wants to impress the blacks, but should be keen on his selection to settle on a leader who will deliver what many Americans want (Scott, 2020). It is apparent that he may experience pressure in choosing the right running mate who has the necessary qualifications, and who may not make him lose the strong support he has from the African Americans, but the right approach would be make consultations with all sides before making any decision. Biden should remember that his decision today may have significant impact in the future that may have direct impact on him as the president and even after quitting office.
Methodology
The study analyses the results of the 2020 primaries elections for the presidential candidates with a particular focus on the areas inhabited by large numbers of African Americans and compares the data with what he received in areas dominated by the whites. The hypothesis guiding the study is that the large number of votes Biden received in the states with high numbers of blacks indicates that the population prefers him as their favorite presidential candidate and would vote for him in the next election. The five states that qualify for analysis as having the highest number of African American population have more than 1 million blacks with four having more than 2 million.
Biden managed to get many votes in the states dominated by large number of African Americans such as South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Texas and Mississippi. Data from the 2010 census results shows that the populations of African Americans in South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Texas and Mississippi are 1,290,635, 2,048,627, 2,999,863, 2,979,599 and 1,098,386 respectively (U.S. Census Bureau., 2011). Biden got 48.6% of the Democratic votes in the primaries against Sanders who became second with only 19.8%. Specifically, Biden received 262,336 votes in South Carolina against Sanders’ 106,605 votes (Cable News Network, 2020). Biden emerged the winner in North Carolina with about 572,251 votes representing 42.9% against Sanders’ 322,655 (24.2%) (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). The Democratic candidate managed to get 34.6% against Sanders’ 29.9% (725,562 against 626,339 respectively) in Texas, and the win in the state with more than 2 million African Americans indicates that Biden remains the favorite candidate for the blacks. Biden’s win in Florida with more than 2 million black Americans was far much higher than Sanders’. Whereas Biden got 1,077,374 (61.9%) of the Democratic votes in Florida, Sanders only managed 397,312 (22.8%). Biden also triumphed against Sanders in Mississippi with 222,160 (81%) against Sanders’ 40,657 (14.8%) (Cable News Network, 2020). The distribution of the high votes Biden received in the states inhabited by large numbers of African Americans give strong indication that the population backs the candidate’s bid for presidency and would give him their votes come the next election.
The results of the primaries show that Biden received low votes in areas dominated by the White people, which further indicate that he receives most of his support from the black community. Biden, for example, trailed in the nominations in New Hampshire where he only managed to get 24,941 (8.4%) votes against others such as Warren, Klobuchar, Buttigieg and Sanders who got 27,425 (9.2%), 58,832 (19.7%), 72,474 (24.3%) and 76,394 (25.6%) respectively (Cable News Network, 2020). New Hampshire has one of the highest percentages of White Americans with nearly 90% of the residents being white. The situation was not any different in Nevada where about 80% of the residents are white Americans. Whereas Sanders managed to get more than 46.8% of the votes in the state, Sanders came far much second with only 20.2%. Warren, Klobuchar and Buttigieg all got below 14% in the region. Biden also managed to get only 15.8% of all the votes in Iowa compared with Sanders and Buttigieg who each received more than 26% of the total vote cast (Cable News Network, 2020). The case was not any different in Nevada where Biden landed in a distant second position behind the Vermont Senator. Sanders got more than 46% of the votes in the region, while Biden got slightly above 20%. Sanders took the advantage of being the Senator of Vermont, which has a high population of white Americans to beat Biden with 79,921 votes against 34,669 (Cable News Network, 2020). Sanders win and Biden’s loss in the areas dominated by whites further shows how Biden has a huge support for the black people compared to the whites , and should focus on attracting the population, including having to achieve the demand for a black woman as running mate.
The study, however, shows some states with large numbers of white Americans voted for Biden, which implies that Biden receives considerable support from the white people as well, and not the support of all states with high numbers of African Americans. Maine, for instance, has more than 90% of its residents being whites but despite the racial composition, Biden managed to beat Sanders with 68,813 votes against 66,393 (Cable News Network, 2020). Biden also failed to secure the most votes in the states dominated by large number of Africans such as California which has approximately 2,299,075 African Americans based on the 2010 census. Biden, for example, came second in California with 1,613,853 votes (27.9%) against Sanders’ 2,080,846 votes (36.0%), which illustrate how Biden did not get the most votes in all the states with high numbers of black voters (Cable News Network, 2020). The same case was evident in Louisiana that has more than 1.5 million African Americans but Sanders managed to secure more votes in the region.
Data Analysis
Based on the analysis of the results of the presidential primaries held by the Democratic Party, the high number of votes Biden received from the states with large number of African Americans as opposed to states with high numbers of white Americans show that the blacks prefer Biden to Sanders and Trump and are likely to vote for him in the forthcoming general elections. The African American population manages to show their affiliation to the Democratic Party by voting to their favorite party, and further expresses the desire to select a leader who will protect their interests by selecting Biden who is contemplating selecting a woman as his running mate. More fundamental, the outcome of the primaries the black population in the U.S. would vote as a group, especially because the people in this community share almost similar political ideologies based on their past experiences.
The revelation that not all states that have high numbers of blacks would vote for Biden, and not all states with high number of whites would vote for Sanders show that not everyone have similar ideologies when it comes to selecting leaders. The study reveals that some people would elect leaders based on their ideologies rather than racial or political affiliation (Taylor, 2020). Often, when leaders approach the electorates during a heated political campaign, people would approach the case differently. Whereas some may want to affiliate with their race, parties or favorite political leaders, others would first weigh what the leader has to offer, which is the reason why some states with high numbers of blacks voted for Sanders while some with high numbers of whites voted for Biden. Indeed, the race is not yet over at this juncture because the support Sanders got from some black voters show that he or even others and not Biden have some appeal in the black population (Taylor, 2020). Biden should learn from the way Sanders managed to attract minority groups by becoming more interactive with them and offering promises that would improve their welfare to know that the manifesto he presents to the people will play an equally essential role in ascending to the presidency rather than just having the support of the African Americans.
In addition, the entire black population is not behind Biden, which creates the impression that there might be a generational division. Kelly informs that the effects of a generational split are evident in the way many young black voters are supporting Sanders (Kelly, 2020). The young voters grew up in the hopes of great possibilities and opportunities presented by the victory of Obama. For the younger voters, the initial presidential election they took part in or can even remember was an election of immense transformation, where a black candidate challenged all anticipations to secure two terms as president (Kelly, 2020). The younger electorates know that hope and optimism has yielded positive outcome and are optimistic it can deliver similar results in the coming elections. The hope make them embrace Sanders’ criticism of the high college costs and the income inequality that still cause socioeconomic imbalance in the country, and they concur that urgent intervention is needed to achieve positive change.
Conclusion
The study illustrates that a majority of the African Americans support Biden in the November elections based on the turnout in the primaries where the candidates achieved more than 65% of the black vote. Historically, African Americans support the Democratic Party, and the support was more evident during Obama’s election and reelection. Even though the black turnout shrunk with the highest margin in the past 20 years during Clinton’s clash with Trump in the 2016 presidential election, Biden hopes that the turnout will be impressive this time that he has so much faith in the population. Biden believes that selecting an African American woman as his running mate will appeal to the population that has a large number to push him to the presidency, but only if black voters come out in large numbers. A critical review of the results of the Democratic presidential primaries shows that Biden acquired more votes in states in more states with large numbers of African Americans compared with Sanders who attained stronger support in states with more white Americans. Biden receives more votes in states such as South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Texas and Mississippi while Sanders dominate in states such as New Hampshire and Iowa that have more white Americans. An examination of the outcome shows that Biden acquired more votes in some states dominated by more whites same to Sanders who triumphed against Biden in some states inhabited by more blacks. The outcome of the primaries suggests that more blacks would vote for Biden to safeguard their interests, but some may consider other leadership qualities that the candidate may lack.
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