This is HUGE. Jon Ward of the Washington Times reports:
The Maryland Democratic Party's traditional support among blacks appears to be slipping, now that hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons -- who has helped register thousands of Democratic voters -- has endorsed Republican Michael S. Steele for the U.S. Senate.
Mr. Simmons is scheduled to hold a fundraiser tonight at Baltimore's Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park for Mr. Steele, the lieutenant governor and the first black to win a statewide office in Maryland."Russell Simmons is one of the leading progressive voices in America," said Donna Brazile, who managed Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign.
"This is a major endorsement for Lieutenant Governor Steele that will help him attract young people, as well as black voters," Ms. Brazile said. "Once again, this should serve as a wake-up call to Democrats not to take their most loyal constituents and voters for granted."
Read the rest at link above.
Simmons has been in the forefront of getting young blacks to register and vote, and of course is a major figure in "hip-hop" culture, something of a "elder statesman." Donna Brazile, who single-handedly made the 2000 Presidential race close with her then-unprecendented get-out-the-vote effort, doesn't sound upset, either.
If black voters begin to give Republicans a closer look, it could spell the end of the Democratic Party as we know it.
Permalink | Send To A Friend | Linking Blogs | Digg this!
Filed under:
2006 Senate Race, Maryland
Comments (2)
Let's face it. The Repubs w... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Stew | August 24, 2006 10:27 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Let's face it. The Repubs will never get a majority of the black vote - not in our lifetime anyway. But if the GOP can win 20-25% of their vote, that would be huge.
1. Posted by Stew | August 24, 2006 10:27 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 24, 2006 22:27
2. Posted by Jim Addison | August 24, 2006 10:53 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Absolutely - it probably wouldn't even take that much.
Oddly enough, Republicans were competing for the black vote pretty well not so long ago. Nixon received nearly 39% of the black vote against Kennedy in 1960. But then came the fight over the Civil Rights Act, and even though a higher percentage of Republican Senators voted for it than did Democrats, and even though Democrats led the filibuster attempts, Republicans became identified for opposition, and have only broken 13% twice since in national elections.
Even a few points improvement would turn a lot of races in competitive districts, not to mention making national elections less close.
2. Posted by Jim Addison | August 24, 2006 10:53 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 24, 2006 22:53