ABC News‘ election coverage subset FiveThirtyEight is facing backlash over an article attempting to explain why “racist White voters favor Black Republicans.”
The co-authors, Stanford University Assistant Professor Hakeem Jefferson and University of California Irvine Professor Michael Tesler, pushed back against those dismissing “Republican racism” following last week’s election victory of GOP candidate Winsome Sears in Virginia’s lieutenant governor’s race.
“But supporting a Black candidate hardly precludes voters from harboring racist beliefs and motivations. Republicans are increasingly more likely than Democrats to hold prejudiced views of minorities, so Black Republicans like Sears often draw especially strong support from [W]hite Americans with otherwise anti-Black views simply because they draw most of their support from Republican voters,” Jefferson and Tesler wrote.
Former Republican Delegate Winsome Sears celebrates winning the race for Lt. Governor of Virginia as she introduces Republican candidate for Governor Glenn Youngkin during an election night party in Chantilly Virginia, U.S., November 3, 2021.
(REUTERS/ Elizabeth Frantz)
The professors cited data from the 2016 presidential election cycle they say has a positive correlation between “prejudiced” White voters who supported Dr. Ben Carson in the GOP primary and the belief that “Black Americans have too much influence on U.S. politics,” showing that those who believed Black Americans had “far too little” influence were widely in favor of Hillary Clinton.
“Much of that relationship is down to partisanship — Republicans are more likely to hold prejudiced views and also more likely to support a Republican candidate. But that’s the point: For many [W]hite GOP voters, anti-Black views don’t seem to get in the way of supporting a Black Republican,” Jefferson and Tesler wrote.
They then cited another study that showed White voters who believed “prejudiced” White voters who believed “Most African Americans are more violent than most Whites” heavily supported Carson over GOP competitor Jeb Bush and then-President Obama while those who believed the opposite were heavily in favor of the Democrat.
Pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson stands behind his podium.
(Fox News)
“To make sense of why racially prejudiced [W]hite Americans are willing to support some Black candidates, it is worth considering why they so strongly oppose Black Democrats in the first place,” the professors wrote. “Racially prejudiced [W]hite voters are not opposed to Black candidates simply because they are Black, but because they believe that most Black candidates will fight for ‘those people’ and not ‘people like us.’”
“Black Republicans, on the other hand, are perceived differently by racially prejudiced white Americans. Their embrace of the Republican Party and its conservative ideology help assure racially prejudiced [W]hites that, unlike Black Democrats, they are not in the business of carrying water for their own racial group. Instead, they are viewed as distinct from other Black elites. If Blackness is viewed as intertwined with a kind of racial liberalism that is antagonistic to the interests of [W]hite Americans, Black Republicans’ partisan and ideological commitments allay concerns that they are for ‘them,’ not ‘us,’” they continued.
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Jefferson and Tesler insisted that electing Sears, who campaigned against critical race theory and election reform laws they described as “voting restrictions that adversely affect racial minorities,” is used as a “symbolic shield by the entire party from inevitable charges of championing racist policies,” adding “Racially prejudiced [W]hites did not vote for Sears because they appreciated her attachment and commitment to Black people. They were willing to support her because they discounted it.”
“Sears’s conservative politics don’t threaten the racial hierarchy, and her candidacy provides cover for a party that’s often antagonistic to racial minorities. For racially prejudiced [W]hites, the real question is what is there not to love about Black politicians like Sears?” they asked.
Former Republican Delegate Winsome Sears celebrates winning the race for Lt. Governor of Virginia as she introduces Republican candidate for Governor Glenn Youngkin during an election night party in Chantilly Virginia, U.S., November 3, 2021.
(REUTERS/ Jonathan Ernst)
FiveThirtyEight’s article was blasted on social media.
“What could be more racist than the elite media questioning the achievements and success of a minority woman to fit their narrative?” former UN ambassador Nikki Haley asked.
“Media: ‘Look, if you don’t support Kamala Harris you’re a racist.’ Also Media: “Look, if you support black candidates you’re a racist,'” Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, quipped.
“If you don’t vote for African-Americans, you are racist. If you do, you’re still racist. Unless you agree with the far left. Leftist idiots have made the term meaningless. It simply means — agree with the left. Race has nothing to do with it,” Media Research Center vice president Dan Gainor wrote.
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“How does this idiocy even get published?” conservative writer AG Hamilton wondered, adding “And this is where they give away the game. According to the authors, being racist isn’t about prejudice against a specific race, but about being hostile to particular views and policies which the authors define as good. So supporting Republicans is always racist to them.
“Yeah probably should’ve voted for the white AG who wore blackface instead of the Hispanic Republican too,” The Federalist publisher and Fox News contributor Ben Domenech joked, alluding to Virginia Democratic AG Mark Herring’s blackface scandal.
The article did receive a vocal endorsement from FiveThirtyEight managing editor Micah Cohen, who tweeted, “Why the whole ‘they voted for a Black candidate, so they can’t hold racist views/beliefs’ argument doesn’t make any sense.”
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Since the article was published, the headline was changed from “Why Racist White Voters Often Favor Black Republicans” to “Why White Voters With Racist Views Often Still Support Black Republicans.” It is unclear if the change was made due to the viral backlash. No editor’s note was placed acknowledging the change.
FiveThirtyEight did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment. Fox News also reached out to the Sears campaign for comment.
