Less than 2 percent of the voters heading to the polls to vote in Florida's primary are African American, but the black community will ultimately affect the November vote. BlackAmericaWeb reports today on how candidates have balanced this. In short, when it comes to African Americans, the GOP hopefuls appear to share the modest goal of avoiding offense — which can look a lot like ignoring black voters.
Less than 2 percent of the registered Republican voters in Florida are African-American, so you won't see many blacks going to the polls today in that state's presidential primary, political observers say.
But while black voters are not expected to make a difference in the January primary, Republican candidates know blacks will impact the vote in November, so they are steering clear of speech and commercials that would put them directly put them at odds, said James Taylor, a political science professor at the University of San Francisco.
"Since 2000, Florida has been a gathering place for politicians in the race for president," Taylor told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "Florida's population is more diverse than any other state in these first four primaries. The Republicans don't want to offend anyone with overt racial remarks."
… Washington said the candidates in the Republican primary have been paying much more attention to Hispanic voters.
Read more at BlackAmericaWeb.
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