Republican’s Black Strategy Seems to be Winning

In 2008, it was very clear.  Americans were in desperate need of change.  The quality of life and the prospect of our future seemed dubious at best.  President Barack Obama and his team made a very bold but correct calculation.  The time for great change was now and they went for it.  His candidacy won by a landslide.  People act like it was close but in relative terms compared to the last 7 or 8 presidential elections it was a landslide.  This evolution is probably just beginning.  People are still hungry for change and are willing to listen to whoever proposes change.  Anyone who thinks it is a democrat thing versus a republican thing is greatly mistaken.

Such seems to be the case in the state of Virginia.  There is a governor’s race that is anything but normal.  Democrats have been on a roll in this southern state.  The last two senate races and governor races have been complete victories for the party.  President Obama won this state which a democratic presidential candidate had not done since Lyndon Johnson.  Virginia, indeed wanted change but it appears it is still looking for it.  Democrats in this state appeared to have made a very serious error.  They have taken the Black vote for granted.  I guess it was easy to do as this state is 33% Black and the history of Republican rhetoric has been extremely conservative with the late Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson being institutions here.    

It appears that the democratic candidate, Creigh (Cree) Deeds, did what many democrats do lately.  He assumed Blacks will still be energetic in voting and were going to exclusively vote as Democrats.  After all, the first Black president is a Democrat and he would be in reserve at the end of the race to clean up any loose ends.  That strategy appears to be a great miscalculation.

The Republican candidate, Bob McDonnell, had a very different strategy.  He knew they were going to come at him from his party affiliation and the close ties he had with evangelist Pat Robertson.  He came up with a structured proposal for things that just stay on the mind of northern Virginians (metro DC).  He promises to widen the very congested Interstate 66, stretch the Metro to Dulles Airport and actively recruit new corporations to provide more jobs to Virginia.  He went on with details and plans of action.  On the other side was Creigh Deeds who just mocked and criticized him.  People want his version of change but it doesn’t seem to be coming.  His southern drawl, negativity and shallowness doesn’t seem to appeal to those looking for the real deal.

But there is something more that overshadows the above.  Bob McDonnell, the Republican, is embracing Blacks in his ads and rallies.  Creigh Deeds, the Democrat, is very noticeably void of Blacks in his ads and rallies.  I started studying these ads for the last two months and Bob McDonnell ads are very inclusive and diverse.  His biggest weapon or “most valuable endorser” is none other than Sheila Johnson, co-founder of BET and bona fide Black billionaire.  She has been very active in his rallies, playing a major and aggressive role.

The best ad of the campaign has been a very proud and articulate Sheila Johnson proclaiming that Bob McDonnell has a plan and will hit the ground running if elected Governor.  The caption under her states “Sheila Johnson, Democrat, and Business Woman”.  It doesn’t say anything about Black but you are looking at her and it is running through your mind.  She concludes her statement with “This Democrat is voting for Bob McDonnell.”  If I were a Virginian I would be convinced.  The pundits are saying that remarkably Blacks are swaying to the Republican candidate.

Right now, the democrats of Virginia are in panic mode.  Somehow, they didn’t see it coming even though a casual viewer of television was picking up on it.  The Republican is ahead by at least 12 points with a week to go and even after the token visit by President Obama last week.  It appears that a Republican is going to win and Blacks were the deciding matter.  Sheila Johnson and the numerous other Blacks giving testimony and promoting their candidate will be in “tall cotton” after this election.  They shook the world! 

I do hope both parties learn from this model.  It isn’t what you did; it’s what you are doing with a full explanation of how you are going to do it.  Unions buying off civil rights groups and local preachers didn’t work this time.  Respectable and creditable Black leaders stepped forward and spoke from their hearts.  They believed in their candidate.  They weren’t simply team players.  It made a difference regardless of party affiliation.

Mr. Alford is the co-founder, President/CEO, of the National Black Chamber of Commerce.  Website:  www.nationalbcc.org.  Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .