The Deepening ‘Racialization’ of American Politics

… Heading into the 2020 election, President Trump is prepared for the second time in a row to run a racist campaign. He continues, for example, to denigrate, in virulent terms, immigrants from Mexico and Central America.

At the same time, Democrats are doubling down on a racially liberal political agenda, becoming more outspoken and more confrontational in their defense of diversity and multiculturalism. Two of the party’s top-tier candidates for president — Senator Cory Booker and Senator Kamala Harris — are African-American, one — Julián Castro — is Latino, and all of the current Democratic contenders unabashedly promote the rights of racial and ethnic minorities.

The continuing Democratic quandary is how to maximize essential minority turnout, and at the same time retain — or recruit — sufficient numbers of white working class voters to secure victory on Election Day. CONT.

Thomas B. Edsall, New York Times