Former Obama pollster dispels notion that Iowa will determine which Democratic candidate black voters support
People need to refresh their memories, suggests Cornell Belcher, the former chief pollster in South Carolina for the Obama campaign.
Belcher told The New York Times that people are placing too much emphasis on the role the Iowa caucus played in establishing former President Barack Obama as a serious contender for the Democratic nomination in 2008, especially among black voters. Instead, Belcher said their internal polling numbers indicated Obama's support among black voters had surpassed the early frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, as early as November 2007.
"Black voters aren't waiting for white people to tell them what to do," Belcher said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But he doesn't think many of the candidates have learned that lesson. Belcher thinks the party's current crop of contenders shouldn't wait around and see if a surprise Iowa victory can carry them forward like they believe it did for Obama. Instead, he argues, they should already be challenging former Vice President Joe Biden in South Carolina, where he's in command. "It's lazy thinking," Belcher told the Times. "They think they don't have to put resources behind it, and is, in fact, taking a key constituency that they need for granted." Read more at The New York Times.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June



