The Election of Harold Washington: Black Voting Patterns in the 1983 Chicago Mayoral Race

Preston, Michael B.

doi:10.1017/s1049096500015572

Cited by 4 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…While the share of the votes cast by African Americans did not increase appreciably in most states, the share coming from whites declined by at least three percentage points in seven states with the largest decreases coming in Alabama (8 points) and Georgia (7 points). In contrast with what often occurs in municipal elections that elect the first black mayor (Hajnal 2007;Preston 1983), the Obama candidacy did not stimulate a massive countermobilization among whites. …”

Section: Changing Make-up Of the Electoratecontrasting

confidence: 77%

Barack Obama and the South

Bullock¹

2010

ARP

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Despite a tradition of racism, the South contributed to Barack Obama’s election as President. Obama won more electors than any Democratic nominee since 1976 although he did not carry the region. Obama’s mixed performance has spawned conflicting interpretations concerning the presence of racism among the region’s whites. Evidence of discrimination is at most mixed. Obama performed less well than Kerry among whites in states that have experienced less growth but elsewhere equaled or exceeded Kerry’s 2004 performance. When compared with statewide Democratic candidates, Obama attracted less of the white vote than went to winners but exceeded the performance of losers. Two other possible manifestations of a racist reaction to Obama in the South also failed to materialize. Across the region there was no Bradley effect nor was there a substantial mobilization among white voters.

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Section: Changing Make-up Of the Electoratecontrasting

confidence: 77%

Barack Obama and the South

Bullock¹

2010

ARP

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“…These developments might explain the high levels of black participation observed in 1967, since these organizations, operating well before the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, helped register and mobilize black voters. Consider, again, the case of the 1983 mayoral election in Chicago, where, for the first time, registration rates between middle-class, working-class and poor black wards became roughly equal (Kleppner 1985;Preston 1987). Kleppner writes that in 1982, as a response to their dissatisfaction with the current administration, more than two hundred black grass-roots organizations, along with the black churches, worked together to register new black voters.…”

Section: A Model Of Black Political Participationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, in 1967, when Carl Stokes was elected mayor of Cleveland, roughly 80% of blacks who were eligible to vote did vote (Nelson 1987). In the 1983 election of Harold Washington in Chicago, approximately 85% of votingeligible blacks turned out (Kleppner 1985;Preston 1987). Jackson's candidacy could have brought new black participants into the political process and could very well have boosted black voter turnout in 1984, since, presumably, blacks turn out and vote in greater numbers when a black is competing for elective office because of group loyalty, pride, and increased interest-especially when the black candidate is the first black to seek a particular office.…”

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confidence: 99%

Black Political Participation in the 1984 and 1988 Presidential Elections

1991

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Using data from a longitudinal telephone study of voting-eligible black Americans I explore the political context of black voter turnout in the 1984 and 1988 presidential elections and reexamine the attitudinal and demographic variables associated with black electoral participation. Jesse Jackson supporters were more likely to vote in the 1984 presidential election, while black opposition to Reagan was also linked to black voter turnout in 1984. Nonetheless, blacks who preferred Jackson to other primary contenders in the 1988 nominating contest were less likely to vote in the presidential election. Finally, while education, political interest, partisanship, and age were generally associated with black voter participation, race identification had a less consistent effect. Instead, church membership and involvement in black political organizations serve as alternative, community-based resources that promote black participation. This research underscores the importance of both political context and group-based political resources in stimulating the black vote.

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“…Starting as early as the 1980s, political scientists demonstrated that blacks participated more in politics when there was a black candidate on the ballot (Abney and Hutcheson 1981; Griffin and Keane 2006; Preston 1983; Tate 1991; Washington 2006). For example, several studies showed that blacks were more likely to vote in an election with a black mayoral, U.S. Senate, gubernatorial, or presidential candidate (Abney and Hutcheson 1981; Preston 1983; Tate 1991; Washington 2006). While descriptive politicians’ influence on black political activity differed at various levels of government, 1 a number of studies demonstrated that blacks were more participatory in races with co-racial candidates.…”

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confidence: 99%

Obamacares: Candidate Traits, Descriptive Representation, and Black Political Participation

Stout

2018

J. Race Ethnicity Politics

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While a number of studies demonstrate that black candidates have the ability to increase black political participation, a growing literature is investigatingwhydescriptive representation matters. This paper contributes to this discussion by exploring whether perceptions of candidate traits play a mediating role between the presence of an African American candidate on the ballot and increases in black political activity. I test this trait hypothesis using data from the 1992–2012 American National Election Study, a survey experiment, and statistical mediation analysis. The results indicate that perceptions of black candidates as being better leaders, more empathetic, knowledgeable, intelligent, honest, and moral explain a substantial amount of why descriptive representation increases black political participation across a range of different political activities. In the conclusion, I discuss the importance of the psychological link between blacks and their co-racial representatives in inspiring higher levels of political participation.

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The Election of Harold Washington: Black Voting Patterns in the 1983 Chicago Mayoral Race

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Barack Obama and the South

Barack Obama and the South

Black Political Participation in the 1984 and 1988 Presidential Elections

Obamacares: Candidate Traits, Descriptive Representation, and Black Political Participation

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