How Explicit Racial Prejudice Hurt Obama in the 2008 Election |
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Authors: | Spencer Piston |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Political Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA |
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Abstract: | Some commentators claim that white Americans put prejudice behind them when evaluating presidential candidates in 2008. Previous
research examining whether white racism hurts black candidates has yielded mixed results. Fortunately, the presidential candidacy
of Barack Obama provides an opportunity to examine more rigorously whether prejudice disadvantages black candidates. I also
make use of an innovation in the measurement of racial stereotypes in the 2008 American National Election Studies survey,
which yields higher levels of reporting of racial stereotypes among white respondents. I find that negative stereotypes about
blacks significantly eroded white support for Barack Obama. Further, racial stereotypes do not predict support for previous
Democratic presidential candidates or current prominent Democrats, indicating that white voters punished Obama for his race
rather than his party affiliation. Finally, prejudice had a particularly large impact on the voting decisions of Independents
and a substantial impact on Democrats but very little influence on Republicans. |
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