Evangelical Christians always vote Republican. Always have. African Americans are attracted to the polls by Democrats. Always will.
Or, maybe not.
Over the past two election cycles, Republicans have made quiet and substantial gains with African American voters by nominating dynamic Black candidates with magnetic appeal. This month, Republican Winsome Sears became the first woman and first woman of color to win a statewide election in Virginia.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I am Black and I have been Black all my life, but that’s not what this is about,” the Jamaican-born immigrant and Marine Corps veteran said in her victory speech. “We have things to tend to. We are going to fully fund our historically Black colleges and universities. We’re going to have safer neighborhoods, safer communities, and our children are going to get a good education.”
Unsurprisingly, her power to disrupt Democrats’ political monopoly on Black voters has triggered vitriolic hate speech from the left. In a recent racist tirade, MSNBC contributor Michael Eric Dyson attacked Sears as a “Black mouth” for “White supremacist practices.” Progressive journalist Glenn Greenwald called it “one of the most repugnant and racist segments broadcast by a TV network.”
“The message could not be clearer: People of color are duty-bound to recite liberal orthodoxy and pledge loyalty to the DNC, and those who don’t are brainless puppets being used,” Greenwald tweeted.
That sentiment had been echoed during the campaign by none other than Democrat L. Douglas Wilder, Virginia’s first Black governor. He openly chastised Democrats for taking black voters for granted.
“No Democrat can win a statewide election in Virginia without massive support from the black community; however, their needs continue to be ignored by those who purport to represent them,” the Democrat wrote in an open letter to his party. “The people are not stupid; they are voting on issues and for those who speak to the issues that impact their lives.”
Sears’ victory isn’t isolated, but the latest in a series of victories for Black Republican candidates. Not since Reconstruction have there been more African American Republicans in Congress, including Republican Tim Scott, the first African American of either party to represent a southern state in the U.S. Senate.
Across the South, Republicans are expanding their bench with Republican African American statewide officeholders. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Larry Hogan handed over the day-to-day responsibilities of governing Maryland to Lt. Gov Boyd Rutherford, the first Republican lieutenant governor to ever be re-elected in Maryland.
In the Bluegrass State, Attorney General Daniel Cameron is the first African American independently elected to statewide office in Kentucky’s history and the first Republican elected to the Attorney General’s office since 1948.
Even in deep blue California, Republicans are making gains at the local level by electing Black Republicans. In 2020, heavily Democratic Stockton ousted its incumbent Democrat Mayor Michael Tubbs. Once a rising Democratic star, Tubbs had been heralded by progressives, profiled in an HBO documentary, and financially backed by Oprah. Yet, he was replaced with Kevin Lincoln, a former Marine who campaigned on addressing the city’s homeless crisis.
More and more Black voters are flexing their political power to choose. In 2012, Black voters in Virginia backed President Barack Obama by a 93-to-6 percent margin. Virginia’s Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin doubled that margin this time around by engaging directly with Black communities and prioritizing funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. For the first time ever, the Hampton Roads Black Caucus, which had endorsed Democrat Terry McAuliffe in 2015, backed the Republican candidate.
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Democrats hoping to stave off Republican gains with Black voters aren’t going anywhere with its far-left agenda. The same survey found that just 21 percent of Black voters believe that critical race theory has a positive impact on society.
If you follow the science, it turns out the magnetic forces aren’t fixed. Like voting blocs, the magnetic poles are constantly changing with gradual shifts that precede an eventual pole reversal. By taking Black voters for granted, Democrats could be headed for a “poll reversal” of their own.
Shawn Steel is a practicing attorney and the Republican National Committeeman from California.
This content was originally published here.
