The Black Vote Rules: Hillary Clinton’s Fatal Weakness

It is not well known that in the 1992 and 1996 elections Bill Clinton would not have been elected president except for the black vote. In each case white voters preferred George H.W. Bush or Bob Dole.

Today blacks make up between 20 and 25 percent of all voters who participate in Democratic presidential primaries and caucuses. In some states, such as South Carolina, which holds the nation’s third presidential nominating contest, blacks are 50 percent of Democratic Party voters.

If these black voters, in very large numbers, support the presidential bid of African-American Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton will have a difficult time amassing the delegate totals she will need to secure the nomination.

Before Obama announced his candidacy, Clinton had counted on the overwhelming support of black voters due to her husband’s persisting support among African Americans. Now the black vote may be her Achilles heel.

Copyright © 2007. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.