ELECT Blog Election Law Essays on Current Topics
A key factor in the South Carolina Democratic Primary
South Carolina has almost 3 million registered voters. 25% of whom voted in the Republican Primary, shattering previous turnout records. The same is expected to happen this Saturday in the South Carolina Democratic Primary.
Let’s take a moment to look at one of the key factors playing into this upcoming vote. African Americans are expected to make up about half of the voters this Saturday, and according to the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party Jaime Harrison, “the key demographic is African American women.”
Hilary Clinton’s camp is strategically placing herself in front of these women and it seems to be paying off. After spending hours with Black Lives Matter advocates this past Friday, five of the mothers in the group spoke in support of Clinton around the state on Monday and Tuesday.
Bernie Sanders is using a different approach to gain the votes, going after the pay dollar. “Nationally, women earn 79 cents on the dollar compared to men, for African American women that gap is even wider,” he said. “I believe 100 percent for pay equity for women and African American women doing the same job as white man should be earning the same pay.”
Sanders also recently received African-American film director, Spike Lee’s, endorsement.
Will these efforts pay off? Who will come out ahead? Just a couple of the questions we’re asking ourselves. Until next time…