Vote Your Aspirations: Statewide Black Candidates and Racial Campaign Strategies

• In Event: Race, Party, and Geography

Abstract

It is increasingly common to witness African American electoral success at the statewide level. Rev Raphael Warnock's victory in the Georgia Senate run-off is the latest example. Yet, African American candidates have been running for statewide office for over half a century. It has long been assumed that a 'deracialisation' strategy was a necessary precondition for electoral success at the state level. Such a strategy involved candidates purging themselves of racial symbolism, avoiding racial controversies, and taking neutral or even conservative stances on issues of racial justice. This paper questions this historical narrative. Revisiting the campaigns of successful late-20th century Black candidates at the state level, I find that deracialisation was by no means the only strategy pursued. Some candidates spoke openly about their racial symbolism, confronted racism on the campaign trail, and championed civil rights. The paper instead argues that Black candidates pursued three basic racial campaign strategies: a symbolic-historic campaign, a 'crusade' campaign, or a deracialised campaign strategy. Occasionally, candidates mixed or adapted their strategies according to their audience or developments in the campaign (such as the emergence of a racialised controversy). Going 'silent' on race was not the only viable path to victory, nor did all Black candidates wish to embrace this approach. This paper is based on interviews with Black candidates for statewide office (including with the first two elected Black senators and Black governor) and their campaign teams, as well as extensive archival research, which complicates our assumptions about the communication strategies pursued by African American candidates facing predominantly white electorates.

Author

• Richard Johnson, Queen Mary, University of London