A funny thing happened on election day. Despite being told over and over again...
The press, however, will lap up the talking points of the pundits, Clinton spinners (and Republicans) that losing Kentucky and West Virginia means that Obama won't do well with White voters, when it really means voters in Appalachia aren't ready to vote for a Black candidate, even though in most of the rest of the country they are.
...the reality is white voters in West Virginia, the state where every county is in Appalachia, voted for the black candidate Barack Obama at the same level as they did the white candidate John Kerry in 2004.
Not only that, but there's a razor's margin of difference with how Obama fared with white voters in West Virginia for Obama with white voters nationally for Obama.
National
Vote by race
White voters 43 percent Obama
West Virginia
Vote by race
White voters 41 percent Obama
Audience at the Williamson Fire Hall, Mingo County, West Virginia during the Tour for Change.
While the figure is much lower than I'd prefer in West Virginia, here are some comparisons with other states across the nation.
North Carolina
Vote by race
White voters 37 percent
Florida
Vote by race
White voters 42 percent
Both states where Obama won. West Virginia's white population is 95 percent white, 3.5 percent African American and 1.5 percent other. If we had similar demographics as North Carolina, Obama's margin of victory likely would have been larger than in blue North Carolina.
Texas
Vote by race
White voters 26 percent
So some would argue those are southern states. How does West Virginia compare to other states?
Kansas
Vote by race
White voters 40 percent
Montana
Vote by race
White voters 45 percent
South Dakota
Vote by race
White voters 41 percent
North Dakota
Vote by race
White voters 42 percent
New Mexico
Vote by race
White voters 42 percent
Nebraska
Vote by race
White voters 39 percent
Indiana
Vote by race
White voters 45 percent
I never denied - despite claims by some that racism is not a factor here. My criticism has long been that the allegation was not "some in Appalachia" or "too many in Appalachia" but that "Appalachia" was not ready to vote for a black candidate. Not only did that overgeneralize the issue, it created a starting off point that made it impossible to have a substantive discussion on the issues involved. By overplaying the importance of racism, it undercut honest discussion on the topic and drowned out all other conversation. It simply perpetuated a negative stereotype - one too readily accepted by many here. It also ignores African Americans have won elected office here at the state and county level. Appalachia has become such an easy scapegoat so when in a front page post on the 22 percent of counties where Republicans gained votes over 2004, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas were lumped in as part of the Appalachia region.
My goal has long been to find the reasons why these counties have trended red in once reliable blue West Virginia. That trend began long before Barack Obama was our nominee for president and race did not cloud the issue.
For West Virginia Blue I've begun that discussion by phone and email with numerous people to take a broader view. That view has long been needed, but was put off due to daily demands of the state blog and as a canvasser for Obama and state candidates. The irony is that even as West Virginia went red again for presidential races, we appear to have trended more blue in our state and county races. Only one Republican holds a seat in Congress, Shelley Moore Capito. The GOP lost their only statewide held seat, Secretary of State, when Natalie Tennant won election there. We also gained two more Democrats on the state Supreme Court and held off a strong challenge for Democratic incumbent Attorney General Darrell McGraw despite the Chamber of Commerce spending $1.1 million to buy those races.
To turn West Virginia back in the Democratic column it belongs requires a hard look at many issues, including the troubling factor of racism. Placing all of the blame on one issue, however, fails to help find a solution. |
