Midterm Exit Polls Show Some Disturbing News for Democrats When It Comes to Minority Voters
It’s official. The Democrats are losing Black and Latino voters, according to exit polling after Tuesday’s midterm elections.
This development has been the topic of discussion ever since polling earlier this year showed a higher percentage of minorities indicating a willingness to back a Republican candidate over Democrats. But now that the numbers are in, it is apparent that the left has a people of color problem.
According to exit polls conducted by CNN, Democratic support among minority men and women has dropped considerably from where they were after the 2018 midterm elections.
Democratic candidates enjoyed an 85-point advantage over Republicans with Black women. This year, this number dropped to 78. Among Black men, the Democrats’ lead dropped from 76 percent in 2018 to 65 percent in 2022. This represents a seven-point drop among Black women and an 11-point drop for men.
Democrats led Republicans with Latina women by 47 points in 2018. This year, it dropped to 33 points. Among Latino men, Democratic candidates led by 29 points in 2018. This number fell to eight points in 2022. This means the party’s support dropped by 14 points with women and 21 points with men.
Needless to say, this is not good news for Democrats. The party still leads Republicans with Black and Brown voters, but their advantage is starting to shrink significantly. If they do not find a way to reverse this trend, it will only get worse for the left.
There is a multitude of factors contributing to this trend. Much of the issue is economic. Both demographics cited inflation and economic concerns as their top priorities going into the midterm elections. Democrats’ performance in this regard has been rather abysmal, despite their claims to the contrary. The notion that the economy wasn’t as bad as it seems was a hard sell when people are paying substantially more for groceries and gas.
Another issue – especially when it concerns Black voters – is the reality that Democrats have shown that they take minority votes for granted. Black people, in particular, have been complaining that the Biden administration is intent on doing for every other group while telling African Americans to keep waiting for them to effect positive change. It seems many in the Black community have lost patience and either decided to give Republican candidates a chance, or stayed home when it came time to vote.
What we are witnessing now is the beginning of a sea change. People of color are becoming increasingly disenchanted with the party to which they have shown remarkable loyalty for decades. Nevertheless, this does not mean they are automatically gravitating toward Republicans. I contend that this shift is more a result of Democrats pushing people away than the GOP attracting them.
However, it is still worth noting that at least some in the Republican camp understand the importance of building a bigger tent. If the former Party of Lincoln can figure out how to rebuild its relationship with nonwhite voters, it will only accelerate the process. At this point, it appears the days of Democrats winning Black and Hispanic support despite taking them for granted might be coming to a close.
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