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Obama Says Black Votes for Him Could Carry South
By Eric Hinton
August 23, 2007
Would a Barack Obama win in the Democratic primary translate into a record black voter turnout in the general election? He thinks so.
"I guarantee you African-American turnout, if I'm the nominee, goes up 30 percent around the country, minimum," Obama said in a recent interview. "Young people's percentage of the vote goes up 25-30 percent. So we're in a position to put states in play that haven't been in play since LBJ."
Increasing black representation in voting would dramatically alter the landscape of which states would be likely go Democratic in the presidential election, Obama noted.
"If we just got African Americans in Mississippi to vote their percentage of the population, Mississippi is suddenly a Democratic state," Obama said, adding other states such as Georgia and South Carolina would be in contention for Democrats.
Consider what impact an Obama nomination would have in the South, where key states such as Florida, Virginia and Arkansas may all come into play.
According to The New York Times analysis of exit polls in the 2004 presidential election, black voters cast 12 percent of ballots in the presidential election, amounting to roughly 14.6 million votes. This was up from 10 percent of all ballots or 10 million cast in 2000.
"I'm probably the only candidate who having won the nomination can actually redraw the political map," Obama said.
"The unknown factor would be the effect of Barack Obama if he were the nominee. All three Southern states under discussion have significant black populations, which certainly would be rallied to his cause," writes a FoxNews.com columnist. "However, these three states are potentials for the Democratic ticket, even if headed by a white."
In recent months, Obama had had to contend with the "Is He Black Enough?" debate as he attempts to keep Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton in sight.
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