After Democratic wins in Alabama and Virginia fueled in large part by black voters, it’s clear that black voter turnout is a key path to Democratic victory. And that means Democrats need to invest and to build relationships or repair ones weakened by neglect. The voting numbers are powerful:
About 30 percent of the electorate in the Alabama Senate race was black, according to CNN exit polls, making the black share of the vote in that election higher than it was in both of Barack Obama’s presidential victories. Mr. Jones won 98 percent of the votes among black women and 93 percent among black men.
But, unfortunately, so is the evidence that the Democratic Party has too often taken black voters and other people of color for granted:
The eight Democratic organizations with budgets of at least $30 million last year all had white leaders, according to Steve Phillips, an activist and fund-raiser. Mr. Phillips also found that of the first $200 million that independent Democratic groups allocated during last year’s presidential election, none of it went to mobilizing black voters.
That said, there are signs that things were changing during the Alabama special election campaign:
Ms. Shropshire’s organization received about $600,000 for the Alabama race from Senate Majority PAC, which aims to elect Democrats to the Senate. What it did with that money was very targeted engagement with black voters, Ms. Shropshire said.
BlackPAC representatives, as well as other black-led political organizations and community groups deeply rooted in the state, knocked on more than half a million doors and made tens of thousands of phone calls. They talked to potential voters about issues like health care, criminal justice reform and access to quality education.
The Democratic National Committee also invested in reaching black and millennial voters in the Alabama election, including hiring black consultants—something that needs to happen more.
The effort wasn't perfect by any means, but maybe the Alabama and Virginia wins will convince the Democratic Party as an institution to hire some more people of color in senior positions and invest in ground game and nurture relationships with the groups that are always there on the ground in local communities fighting for equality and justice. And that doesn’t have to mean ignoring white working-class voters! The party can walk and chew gum at the same time—but it’ll do a lot more winning if it gives people of color a reason to walk into the voting booth on Election Day.