Elections these days are determined in part by the swing of unaffiliated voters, which both sides closely contest. They also hinge on how strongly each party’s base turns out to vote.
The base vote can be a huge factor in elections. Consider, for instance, that in 2000 George W. Bush won 72 percent of people opposed to abortion in most or all cases. In 2004, he won 75 percent of that bloc. Moreover, turnout among this group increased from 40 percent to 42 percent of the population. Taken together, this increase among an already solidly Republican group added about 3.2 million votes to Bush’s total in 2004, more than his entire margin of victory over John Kerry.
When we look at Obama’s voting coalition, African Americans without doubt constitute the core of his constituency. And it is truly extraordinary how much better Obama did in 2008 with them than previous Democrats.
In 2004, John Kerry won 88 percent of the black vote, which made up 11 percent of the total electorate. In 2008, Obama won 95 percent of the black vote, which made up about 13 percent of the electorate. That means Obama’s increase in support relative to Kerry won him about 3.5 million extra votes, or nearly 40 percent of his total margin over John McCain.
This was a truly amazing feat, considering what we know about people’s voting habits. In particular, political scientists for generations have found that voting is highly correlated with socioeconomic status. About 61 percent of the white voting age population turned out to vote in 2004, compared to only 50 percent of the black voting age population.
But enthusiasm for Obama in 2008 among African Americans basically erased this underlying tendency: whites turned out at 62 percent; African Americans turned out at 60 percent.
Campaign strategists like to pat themselves on the back for how greatly their organizational genius influences elections, but the surge in the black vote is a good case in point of how demographic trends actually influence campaigns, rather than vice-versa. Consider the increase in turnout in 2008 compared to the African American population:
There are only two states on this list that have a relatively small share of African Americans – Colorado and Indiana. Indiana was a swing state for the first time in generations, so the turnout increase makes sense. Colorado is increasingly competitive and has a large and growing Hispanic population.
The remaining states have some of the largest percentages of African Americans in the country. In fact, eight of the top ten states in terms of black population are on this list – with only Delaware and (Katrina-affected) Louisiana missing. Nationwide, there was a very strong relationship between black share of the population and turnout increases – a 10-point increase in a state’s black population suggested a 4.4 percent increase in its turnout:
So, to put it simply: in 2008 the first major party black nominee clearly overcame the historical tendency that socioeconomic status holds back black turnout.
My question today: will that happen again, especially since the socioeconomic position of African Americans has gotten worse relative to whites in the intervening years?
There is circumstantial evidence to suggest that Obama has worries about this bloc. If you’re wondering why Obama is reportedly having conference calls with black pastors like Jeremiah Wright, going on radio shows hosted by people nicknamed “Pimp with the Limp,” and sounding off about the feud between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj, perhaps this is the answer.
Facebook
Twitter
