Young, Black, Latino & White Voters Choose Obama
By Daryl C. Hannah
November 05, 2008
Keywords: Barack Obama,
election '08, voters
Millions of Americans turned out
yesterday to elect President-elect Barack Obama, making him the first Black
president of the United States. But while millions more spent last night and
today celebrating the historic moment, the question remains: Who actually voted
for Obama?
Of Obama's voters, more than 60 percent were white and 20
percent were Black, according to Edison/Mitofsky exit-poll information. Latinos
made up 11 percent of votes for Obama. That's more than the percentage of
Latinos who supported President Bush four years ago.
Where the
Candidates Found Support.
| Voter
Category |
Obama
Voters |
McCain
Voters |
Kerry
Voters |
Bush
Voters |
| White |
61% |
90% |
66% |
88% |
| Black |
23% |
1% |
21% |
2% |
| Hispanic/Latino |
11% |
6% |
9% |
7% |
| Asian |
2% |
1% |
2% |
1% |
| Men |
44% |
50% |
42% |
49% |
| Women |
56% |
50% |
58% |
51% |
| Republicans |
6% |
64% |
5% |
68% |
| Independents |
28% |
28% |
27% |
25% |
| Democrats |
67% |
8% |
68% |
8% |
| Age under
45 |
52% |
42% |
46% |
44% |
| 45 and over |
48% |
58% |
53% |
56% |
| Income under
$50,000 |
42% |
32% |
52% |
39% |
| $50,000 and over |
58% |
68% |
48% |
61% |
*Source: Edison/Mitofsky exit
poll
But that's not all. Obama also
received a large percentage of younger votes, claiming as much as a 10
percentage-point lead over his GOP opponent Sen. John McCain, ending the night
52-42 percent, respectively.
So why was Obama so successful among
younger voters? Technology. This campaign season, more than 46 percent of
Americans used the Internet, e-mail or text messaging to get information about
the presidential campaign, according to the Pew Internet & American Life
Project. A whopping 35 percent of Americans, two-thirds of whom are between the
ages of 19 and 29, say they have watched online political videos, nearly three
times what the organization reported in 2004. And Obama surely out paced is
opponent when it comes to the internet advertising and spending.
| Amount of money spent on
media |
Sen. John
McCain |
Sen. Barack
Obama |
| Print |
$4,210 |
$13.9 million |
| Broadcast: |
$63.3 million |
$160.4 million |
| Internet |
$3 million |
$11.9 million |
| Media Consultants |
$624,144 |
$194 million |
| Misc. |
$9.8 million |
$3.8
million |
*Source:
OpenSecrets.org Readers' Comments
Posted: Wednesday, Nov 05, 2008
Young, Black, Latino & White Voters Choose Obama
I'm in my fifties and white, and I have been actively supporting Barack Obama since February. So give us older voters some credit too for supporting this historic candidacy. I believe Obama will be a truly great president.
Carol Nye
|
Posted: Wednesday, Nov 05, 2008
Young, Black, Latino & White Voters Choose Obama
Attributing Obama's success with young voters solely to technology is missing the very important point that he also had a message to accompany his campaign's grasp of technology, and that message had great appeal to American youth. The act of connecting requires not only the means, which technology provided, but also something that the recipient wants to see and hear. Just watch to see how quickly young people hit the channel button on their TV remote or the search button on their radio when they are even slightly disinterested in what they are seeing or hearing.
Paul Kuntz
|
Posted: Wednesday, Nov 05, 2008
Young, Black, Latino & White Voters Choose Obama
As an African American Female, I am so moved by this historic moment.. Not only because he's our country's first African American President, but the fact that WE, the american people (whites, blacks, hispanics, etc) did this together... Obama represents all people, and I am proud to have witnessed this moment.
Karen Roberts
|
Posted: Wednesday, Nov 05, 2008
Young, Black, Latino & White Voters Choose Obama
We could have bailed out this country or fed the world's starving population with what they spent. What a disgusting system we have created!
Arthur F. Conlon
|
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