Democratic nominees for President of the United States have traditionally been told that they don’t have to work too hard to secure the black vote. Presumptive nominee Joe Biden illustrated this attitude recently when he commented that African-American voters do not have diverse political views. Instead of actively catering to African-Americans, the conventional wisdom goes, better to focus on those swing voters — working class whites and suburban soccer moms — who supposedly vacillate between Democrats and Republicans each election cycle. But that image — if it were ever true — is showing signs of breaking down. Two research fellows at American University have dug deeper into the supposed monolithic opinion of African-American voters. Sam Fulwood III is a fellow at the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies. Welcome, Sam. David C. Barker is the Director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies.
