… Black voters, particularly black women, have the potential to play a decisive role in the Democratic Party’s attempt to defeat President Trump in 2020. An inability to earn their support has dealt severe blows to past candidates — most recently Sanders in the 2016 primaries and to a lesser extent Hillary Clinton in the general election.
That has led the current white male candidates in particular to seek out black voters with some urgency. They are opening the door to reparations, speaking openly about the legacy of slavery and offering blunt talk on racial injustice — a stark departure from past presidential campaigns in which candidates trod lightly around those topics.
As 11 presidential hopefuls appeared this week at a Midtown Manhattan hotel for the National Action Network convention, frustration emerged over the standing of the nonwhite candidates. But there was also tension between some black voters who want a candidate reflecting the nation’s diversity and others who perceive the white men as potentially stronger against Trump. CONT.
Sean Sullivan & David Weigel, Washington Post