Black Empowerment In The Age Of Obama

There has been a precipitous growth in the number of black candidates nominated by major parties for Governor, US Senator, and the Presidency over the past twelve years. Unlike most of their predecessors who campaigned for elected offices at the local and congressional levels of government, this new group of high-level black candidates are campaigning in contexts where blacks make up a very small proportion of the electorate. Thus, this new cohort of high-level black candidates cannot only rely on black voters for success. To appeal to a broader array of voters, these high-level black candidates often minimize the role of race in their personal stories and primarily focus on issues that transcend racial stereotypes. This new style of campaigning may allow black candidates to appeal to white voters, but it may not empower blacks in the same way as the campaigns of black local and congressional elected officials who routinely made explicit racial appeals. As a result, this new cohort of black candidates may or may not advance black politics to the same degree as their predecessors. The growth in the number of African American US Senate and Gubernatorial candidates in recent years, Barack Obama's success in the 2008 Presidential Election, and the deracialized campaign styles of these candidates raise several interesting questions that I address in this dissertation. First, what led to the dramatic increase in the number of African Americans campaigning for prominent statewide and national elected offices? Second, once nominated for these high level elected positions, what impact do these candidates have on the black and white electorate? Finally, what effect do these high profile black candidates have on black representation in lower levels of government? This work is significant because it expands our understanding of descriptive representation in several important ways. First, this research shows that black candidates who do not use racial appeals can still play an important role in black political empowerment. Second, this research demonstrates that prominent black politicians who do not hold elected office can also play a large role in altering black's and white's political attitudes and behaviors.