Black Major Party Nominees for Statewide Constitutional Offices
The November 2006 elections may prove critical in terms of both partisan control of Congress and the election of black candidates to statewide office. A number of races are competitive and black voter turnout could affect the election outcomes. To keep our website visitors informed of important races and campaign developments as we approach Election Day, Dr. David A. Bositis, senior research associate at the Joint Center, will provide a series of election analyses posted on the Joint Center’s website. Beginning July 10th, a new election update will be posted every other Monday.
Black Major Party Nominees for Statewide Constitutional Offices, by David A. Bositis, September 5, 2006
At this point in the 2006 mid-term election cycle, there are 11 black major party nominees to statewide constitutional offices, four fewer than at this point in the cycle in 2002 [See Table]. As of August 31st, there are nine black Democratic party nominees and two black Republican party nominees. Of the nine black Democratic nominees, four are incumbents; neither of the Republican nominees is an incumbent. In 2002, there were two black nominees for Governor (Nevada and New York), and three black nominees for Lieutenant Governor (Arkansas, Maryland, and Ohio). This year, there are two black Gubernatorial nominees and two black Lieutenant Governor nominees; however, if Deval Patrick receives his party's nomination in Massachusetts in the state’s September 19 primary election, there will be three black candidates for Governor.
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2006 Black Major Party Nominees for Statewide Constitutional Office [As of Aug. 31] |
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|
State |
BVAP (%) |
Office |
Black Nominee(s) |
|
CT |
9.1 |
Treasurer |
(x) Denise Nappier (D) |
|
GA |
26.6 |
Attorney General |
(x) Thurbert Baker (D) |
|
|
|
State Superintendent of Education |
Denise Majette (D) |
|
|
|
Commissioner of Labor |
(x) Michael Thurmond (D) |
|
IL |
13.8 |
Secretary of State |
(x) Jesse White (D) |
|
OH |
10.5 |
Governor |
J. Kenneth Blackwell (R) |
|
|
|
State Auditor |
Barbara Sykes (D) |
|
MD |
26.4 |
Lieutenant Governor(1) |
Anthony Brown (D) |
|
NY |
14.8 |
Lieutenant Governor(1) |
David Paterson (D) |
|
PA |
9.5 |
Governor |
Lynn Swann (R) |
|
SC |
27.2 |
Secretary of State |
Cheryl Footman (D) |
|
(x) Incumbent (1). Governor and Lieutenant Governor run together on the same ticket. |
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BVAP = Black Voting Age Population |
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Black Major Party Nominees, U.S. House of Representatives, by David A. Bositis, September 5, 2006. |
At this point in the 2006 mid-term election cycle, with several states yet to hold their primaries, there are 38 black major party nominees to the U.S. House of Representatives, three more than at this point in the cycle in 2002 [See Table]. As of August 31st, there are 31 black Democratic party nominees and seven black Republican party nominees. Of the 31 black Democratic nominees, 30 are incumbents; Hank Johnson (GA-4) is the lone non-incumbent Democratic nominee. All 31 Democrats are assured of election in November. There are 12 black Democratic incumbents who have no major party opposition; at this point in 2002, only seven black U.S. House incumbents had no major party opposition.
The seven black Republican nominees represent a gain of two from this point in 2002. All but one of the black Republican nominees are running against incumbent Democrats, and none are expected to win.
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Black Major Party Nominees for the U.S. House of Representatives, November 2006[As of August 31, 2006] |
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|
District |
BVAP (%) |
Democrat |
Republican |
|
AL 7 |
57.8 |
Artur Davis(x) |
Unopposed |
|
CA 9 |
24.5 |
Barbara Lee(x) |
John DenDulk |
|
CA 33 |
29.6 |
Diane Watson(x) |
Unopposed |
|
CA 35 |
35.0 |
Maxine Waters(x) |
Unopposed |
|
CA 37 |
24.7 |
Juanita M-McDonald(x) |
Unopposed |
|
GA 2 |
40.9 |
Sanford Bishop(x) |
Brad Hughes |
|
GA 4 |
48.8 |
Hank Johnson |
Catherine Davis |
|
GA 5 |
51.0 |
John Lewis(x) |
Unopposed |
|
GA 13 |
37.3 |
David Scott(x) |
Deborah Honeycutt |
|
IL 1 |
63.2 |
Bobby Rush(x) |
Jason Tabour |
|
IL 2 |
59.4 |
Jesse Jackson, Jr.(x) |
Robert Belin |
|
IL 7 |
55.9 |
Danny K. Davis(x) |
Charles Hutchinson |
|
IN 7 |
26.7 |
Julia Carson(x) |
Eric Dickerson |
|
MI 13 |
57.9 |
Carolyn Kilpatrick(x) |
Unopposed |
|
MI 14 |
58.9 |
John Conyers(x) |
Chad Miles |
|
MN 4 |
5.4 |
Betty McCollum(x) |
Obi Sium |
|
MS 2 |
58.9 |
Bennie Thompson(x) |
Yvonne Brown |
|
MO 1 |
45.8 |
William Clay, Jr.(x) |
Mark Byrne |
|
MO 5 |
21.8 |
Emanuel Cleaver(x) |
Jacob Turk |
|
NJ 10 |
54.3 |
Donald Payne(x) |
Unopposed |
|
NY 6 |
51.1 |
Gregory Meeks(x) |
Unopposed |
|
NY 10 |
60.0 |
Edolphus Towns(x) |
Unopposed |
|
NY 15 |
30.5 |
Charles Rangel(x) |
Edward Daniels |
|
NC 1 |
47.6 |
George K. Butterfield, Jr.(x) |
Unopposed |
|
NC 12 |
41.9 |
Mel Watt(x) |
Ada Fisher |
|
NC 13 |
25.9 |
Brad Miller(x) |
Vernon Robinson |
|
OH 11 |
51.6 |
Stephanie Tubbs Jones(x) |
Linsey String |
|
PA 2 |
56.5 |
Chaka Fattah(x) |
Michael Gessner |
|
SC 6 |
53.5 |
James Clyburn(x) |
Gary McLeod |
|
TX 9 |
36.5 |
Al Green(x) |
Unopposed |
|
TX 18 |
40.3 |
Sheila J. Lee(x) |
Ahmad Hassan |
|
TX 30 |
41.0 |
Eddie B. Johnson(x) |
Wilson Aurbach |
|
VA 3 |
52.7 |
Robert Scott(x) |
Unopposed |
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Non-black candidates' names are underlined. (x) Incumbent |
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BVAP = Black Voting Age Population |
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