Minority voters may test hopefuls
Candidates focus on people of color after leaving largely white electorates in Iowa, N.H.
For I.S. Leevy Johnson, the Democrats’ search for a challenger to take on President Donald Trump is personal.
“There is what I call an ‘ABT mood’ in the black community: Anybody but Trump,” said the 77year-old who was the first African-American graduate of the University of South Carolina’s law school. “It has people of color very motivated and excited about voting this time because they know how his administration has adversely affected them.”
Now, as the election calendar turns to Nevada and South Carolina — states with substantial minority populations — that “anybody” moves closer to being identified. But the next stage in the nominating fight will test candidates such as Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind. Their success thus far has come in front of overwhelmingly white electorates in Iowa and New Hampshire.
It’s also a potential last
comeback opportunity for former Vice President Joe Biden. He finished poorly in those first two contests but argues he has durable support among the minority voters who will soon make their choices.
Nevada’s caucuses are this coming Saturday and will feature a growing population of Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Yet no single place in the early going is as important as South Carolina. Up to two-thirds of voters in the Feb. 29 primary could be African American. Biden, more than any other candidate, must show he can win their allegiance.
One candidate who will not be tested in Nevada or South Carolina is Mike Bloomberg, the former New York mayor and billionaire owner of a financial services and media empire. Bloomberg has spent heavily from his personal fortune in states with sizable minority populations that will vote in the March 3 primaries. The Super Tuesday contests are the first where his name will appear on the ballot.
It adds up to a muddled field that lacks clarity even after Iowa and New Hampshire had their turns. Moderates have splintered their votes and created space for Sanders, a self-described Democratic socialist, to take on the mantle of a front-runner without having reached 30% in either of the first two voting states.
That intensifies the spotlight as minority voters in Nevada and South Carolina in trying to clarify the party’s search for “anybody” to match against Trump.
“The system is garbage,” said Jason Johnson, a professor at Morgan State University and a high-profile African American political commentator. He argued that the primary calendar should immediately subject candidates not just to racial and ethnic diversity but also regional and ideological differences, and the full city-to-farm spectrum. “I’m not sure this process actually can identify the strongest candidate to defeat Donald Trump,” he said.
Jason Johnson said he doesn’t blame the candidates because they are merely reacting to a process “that harms everybody.” But I.S. Leevy Johnson, the South Carolina businessman and lawyer, said it too easily makes key constituencies in the party an afterthought. “People of color are tired of these promises that candidates are going to do things, and when they make those promises, when they get elected, they don’t perform,” he said.
In Nevada, Biden campaigned on Saturday in a high school gymnasium covered in signs that read: “Biden Trabajando por Nevada” (Biden Works for Nevada). “The reason why we are here: 99% of the African American vote hasn’t spoken yet and 99% of the Latino vote hasn’t spoken yet.” He hammered away at Trump’s immigration policies.
Biden and Sanders lead in endorsements from members of South Carolina’s Legislative Black Caucus. Biden also promotes a network of black religious leaders who back his candidacy. But he’s facing a push from California billionaire Tom Steyer, who has spent considerable sums on advertising in South Carolina.