Presidential elections are rare events, and Republicans tend to do better with the black vote when not running against a charismatic Black opponent or kicking off their campaign by giving a speech on states rights in Philadelphia, Mississippi.
I was just rewatching NBC News' Election Night Coverage from 1980, and it was mentioned by one of the anchors (Tom Brokaw) that "just about the only group" that Carter was doing well with that night were black voters. Carter won blacks 83-14-3% in 1980, performing better among them then he had in 1976, when he carried them 82-16% over Gerald Ford. Carter's improvement among black voters was probably a factor in keeping his losing margins so close throughout much of the South-especially in states like Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina-that year. And in 1984, Walter Mondale improved even further among black voters, winning them over Reagan 91-9%.
And yet they got blown out, while Gore and Hillary both won the popular vote with less.
Tells a lot aout demographic shifts huh?
