Black Alabamians Carried Doug Jones To Victory — And It Should Be A Warning To Democrats For 2018

Business Insider ^ | 12-19-2017 | Eliza Relman

[blam]

Black Alabamians deserve much of the credit for Democrat Doug Jones' stunning victory in the deep red state's US Senate special election last Tuesday.

Turning out to vote in much higher-than-predicted numbers last week, black voters are being described as the "backbone" of the Democratic Party, but some on the left argue that much more needs to be done to both serve and energize black communities to ensure their engagement in crucial elections in 2018 and 2020.

A multipronged approach to mobilizing black voters

Guy Cecil, the chairman of Priorities USA, a progressive super PAC that invested heavily in the Alabama race, said the effort to reach black voters was multifaceted, with a heavy focus on digital advertising and grassroots mobilization.

Black Alabamians made up 30% of the electorate, slightly more than in 2008 and 2012 when Barack Obama was on the ballot, according to exit polls. And 96% of them voted for Jones, helping him edge Republican Roy Moore by about 1.5 percentage points overall.

Priorities USA poured $1.5 million into a digital ad campaign, nearly $1 million of which was spent targeting 1.4 million black Alabamians on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Pandora, Google, and other online platforms.

Some ads were specifically targeted at black communities, showing footage of white supremacist marches and Donald Trump rallies while a woman talked about the importance of education for children of color.

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[SaveFerris]

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[DiogenesLamp]

There was also the problem of Roy Moore doing his best Hillary Clinton imitation and mailing it in over the last few weeks of the campaign.

Irrelevant. Without the fabricated scandals and the deliberate backstabbing by Shelby, Flake, McConnell, et al, Roy's activities or lack thereof would not have mattered.

Let us not try to distract the blame from where it belongs.

[DiogenesLamp]

It's more than just sex scandals. Alabamans just didn't like Roy Moore.

It is nothing but the sex scandals. Moore got over 1 million votes in 2012.

[DiogenesLamp]

Nope. Bannon just chose a particularly crappy candidate to put his money and prestige (HA!) behind, so crappy that Moore could not win even in Alabama. That takes some doing.

Stop spreading lies. Moore got over 1 million votes in 2012. He was just fine as a candidate until the fabricated sex scandal and the backstabbing by people like Shelby, Flake, McConnell and so forth.

[babble-on]

he only got 51.8% of the vote in 2012 !

Before people knew he liked fishing in the immature pond!

[DiogenesLamp]

he only got 51.8% of the vote in 2012 !

So did the down ticket Republican candidates. Were they bad candidates too?

Before people knew he liked fishing in the immature pond!

Who knows this? Last I heard it was an accusation. It was this willingness to embrace the accusations of left wing kooks that cost this election. Those who believed these suspicious accusations were fools.