Democrats are turning to black voters for help in next week's midterm elections, hoping they can be the jolt of energy needed to stem projected lossesby winning key competitive congressional and gubernatorial races.
Democratic strategists say huge turnout from black voters, the party's most loyal supporters, could help unseat Gov. Rick Perry in Texas, push the Florida gubernatorial race into the Democratic column, defend Senate seats in Nevada, Illinois and Pennsylvania and even potentially spoil the GOP's efforts to capture the 39 seats they need to take over the House.
But former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder said he doesn't see the levels of enthusiasm black voters would need to show.
"I am not being critical of anyone — any criticism I give is being constructive, hopefully — but I don't know if it is there at this point," Mr. Wilder said. "I don't see the excitement, nor do I feel the excitement.
"I think you are going to have the traditional drop-off that you have in a midterm. I also think that Obama not being on the ballot and saying, 'I need you to vote for me,' is going to have an impact," he said.
In 1998, black voters turned out in droves to support President Clinton, helping Democrats defy history and pick up seats in a midterm election in which they also controlled the White House.
David A. Bositis, senior research associate at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, said there are similarities between this year and 1998 and 1996, when elections played out in states with significant black populations and Democrats made gains.
"The extent of the Democrats' losses will depend on their ability to turn out their most loyal voters, and no voting bloc will be more important to them than African-Americans," Mr. Bositis said. "If they can mobilize a strong black turnout, the Democrats can significantly reduce their potential losses."
Attempts to energize that base are already under way.
The Democratic National Committee has poured about $3 million into efforts to motivate black voters to go to the polls, and President Obama has conducted a number of radio interviews in recent weeks with stations that have large black audiences.
© Copyright 2010 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
