If the endgame of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign began with Indiana’s primary results, then African-American voters in Indianapolis delivered the knockout punch.
This city/county which contains 42 percent of Indiana’s African-American voters helped fuel a stunning landslide for Sen. Barack Obama. That and an Obama landslide in Gary, gave Clinton a razor-thin Indiana victory — 50.6 percent to 49.4 percent.
Statewide, African-American voters were energized. The Edison Media Research exit polls estimated 18 percent of Democratic primary voters were African-American. Far higher than the 8 percent of state voters who’re African-American.
If the exit poll was correct, then of the 1.27 million Indiana Democratic primary voters, an estimated 229,200 were Black; including some 96,300 in Indianapolis/Marion County. In the city/county 191,490 voted Democratic, so if the exit poll estimate is correct, perhaps half of all voters in Indianapolis in the Democratic primary were African-American.
To analyze the impact of African-American voters here, this column examined unofficial precinct returns from the Marion County Election Board. My analysis concentrated on the Black-majority ward/precincts from the “old city” and Black-majority precincts in “old township” areas.
First, overall voter turnout in Black-majority precincts was 37.3 percent, higher than the overall city/county voter turnout of 36.6 percent. Turnout in Black-majority precincts was highest in Lawrence Township (42 percent), Washington (41.9 percent), Pike (38.4 percent), Center (37.8 percent) and lowest in Wayne (28.8 percent) and Warren (34.2 percent).
Black Indianapolis votes were critical in giving Clinton a razor thin win. How critical? Statewide, Clinton beat Obama by 14,487 votes. Obama’s margin in Marion County was a stunning 65,769 votes or 67.3 percent. Nearly 70 percent of Obama’s winning margin, 45,787 votes, came from Black-majority precincts.
Now some reading this will think that was extent of Obama’s Black vote. No. Some 40 percent of Black voters don’t live in a Black-majority precinct. They live in white-majority precincts throughout the county. Their votes helped grease the Obama win here. Excluding Black-majority precincts, Obama still beat Clinton in Indianapolis 58.1 percent to 41.9 percent; a 19,982 vote margin.
Obama won Marion County with the votes of thousands of white Democrats, Republicans and independents. It’s also how he won suburban Boone County (52 percent-48 percent) and won a landslide in Hamilton County (61 percent-39 percent).
Obama’s Indianapolis landslide helped propel Congressman Andre Carson to a strong win over three major and three minor candidates in the most expensive congressional election in Indianapolis history.
Carson’s victory wasn’t easy. After March’s special election, Carson’s campaign sputtered as he plunged into his congressional duties. In early April fundraising lagged and there was embarrassment as TV time reserved wasn’t timely paid.
But in the closing weeks, Carson’s campaign jelled as fundraising soared, his media message became focused and the vaunted Carson’s ground operation roared into high gear.
Orentlicher’s campaign suffered from the fact that a congressional district is 10 times larger than his legislative district. Orentlicher, who relishes door-to-door campaigning, did plenty, but the district was too large and the campaign a too short nine weeks.
Orentlicher, who had resources, should’ve first used radio ads then moved into TV. His TV ads started three weeks before the election, a bit late. Though his 11th-hour ad blasting Woody Myers opposition to a Democratic-sponsored Patent Bill of Rights hurt Myers and probably helped Orentlicher gain ground. But, too late.
State Reps. Carolene Mays, who came in fourth, was hurt by a perception among potential supporters and voters that because of her uncle, Bill Mays, her campaign had plenty of cash to compete. Mays’ economically run campaign had some media ads, but she was overwhelmed by the huge sums spent by Myers, Carson and Orentlicher.
Myers is the big loser, spending $1.6 million or just under $50 a voter. The biggest election flop in this town — ever.
Myers’ campaign failed because it was built on faulty assumptions that voters would be attracted to a candidate for what he did 20 years ago instead of what he’d recently done for the community. Myers paid for the some 15 years spent away from Indianapolis in California, New York and Michigan with a severe defeat.
And those 20-year old Oprah and Evan Bayh photos and Myers’ spurious claim that he was a top Obama advisor (when he only was on an advisory committee of hundreds) didn’t help, either.
His ads extolling his efforts on Ryan White’s behalf meant nothing to Indianapolis voters who only dimly remembered the White case and knew White never lived in Indianapolis.
Other big election winners: Dr. Frank Lloyd Jr., who won in a landslide over invisible John Linehan for the Democratic coroner nod. And Washington Township Small Claims Judge Kimberley Brown who beat the slate as the second highest vote getter in the Democratic judge contest.
Biggest loser was Secretary of State Todd Rokita whose Voter ID law deprived elderly Catholic nuns at St. Mary’s Convent in South Bend their constitutional right to vote. Other whites, including scores of students, were also denied their vote.
I told you white citizens would also be victimized by Voter ID.
What I’m hearing in the streets
Last September, the NFL and city leaders angered our African-American community when the NFL’s Kickoff event pointedly banned Black entertainers from the NFL’s free Monument Circle event and excluded Black-owned business participation.
Last Friday, 22 middle school students, including seven African-Americans, hand delivered Indianapolis’ 2012 Super Bowl bid to NFL owners. To showcase this positive story, Indianapolis’ Super Bowl Bid Committee placed a half page color ad in the Indianapolis Star, which gave them a discounted rate.
But, the committee didn’t ask any of the city’s Black newspapers, including the Indianapolis Recorder, if they’d provide the same courtesy? I hope this egregious oversight of Black-owned businesses isn’t a preview of how Black-owned businesses will be maltreated by the NFL, if Indianapolis snags the 2012 Super Bowl.
Did the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police recently promote a large number of whites only to new positions; and not promote any Blacks or other minorities? Are Mayor Greg Ballard and Public Safety Director Scott Newman getting ready to disembowel the federal consent decree mandating promotions of minorities and women in the police department?
See ‘ya next week.
Amos Brown’s opinions are not necessarily those of the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. You can contact him at (317) 221-0915 or by e-mail at ACBROWN@AOL.COM.
