U.S. Congressional Races: Black GOP Candidates
Earlier this year, Britain showed that 2010 was the Year Of The Black Conservative. Will the Republican Party match or surpass what Britain's Conservative Party did this year? The Brits went from one black conservative in the House of Commons, to four black conservatives (this excludes the black conservative in the appointed House of Lords). In USA, there were 37 black Republican candidates for Congress. However, only 15 of them garnered their party's nomination in the primary election and thus remain.
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Charleston, South Carolina | South Carolina House of Representatives | Conservative Republican
He might as well start ordering his Congressional letterhead. Mr. Scott is running in a Republican-dominant district (Cook Partisan Voting Index: R+10) that hasn't had a Democratic congressional rep since 1981. In the Republican primary, he beat two scions of South Carolina politics: the son of the infamous late Sen. Strom Thurmond and the son of former South Carolina Governor Carroll Campbell Jr. (and six other candidates). His opponent in the general election is a black liberal Democrat who has perennially run for office and raised little money for his candidacy.
Background: Besides serving in the South Carolina House of Representatives since 2008, Mr. Scott is an insurance agency owner and a partner in Pathway Real Estate Group LLC. Mr. Scott served on the Charleston County Council for 13 years. He has a B.A. in political science from Charleston Southern University.
Possible Historical Impact: Mr. Scott will probably be the one credited with being the first black Republican elected to Congress from the South since Reconstruction (since the 1870s), and the first black Republican to serve in Congress since J.C. Watts in 2003. Even if other black Republicans win on Election Day, the election returns from his district will come in first because of (1) location (East Coast) and (2) the probably wide vote margin.
Aurora, Colorado | City Councilman |
Libertarian-Conservative Republican
In this suburban-Denver swing district (Cook Partisan Voting Index: D+4), polls show Mr. Frazier running neck-and-neck with incumbent Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.)
Background: A Navy veteran, Mr. Frazier used to do intelligence analysis (more specifically, cryptography) for the National Security Agency. He has also worked for Raytheon Systems, training Department of Defense personnel on national security issues. In addition to serving on the Aurora City Council (where he's been since 2003), Mr. Frazier is a partner in startup firm Takara Systems. He also co-founded a K-8 charter school (which has been criticized for accepting economic stimulus funds, while Mr. Frazier has campaigned against the issue). He has a B.A. from Columbia College and and M.S. in organizational leadership from Regis University.
Possible Historic Impact: If he wins, Mr. Frazier would become Colorado's first black Congressman ever. Also, the first black Republican Congressman ever from the West.
Plantation, Florida | Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel |
Conservative Republican
Out of the folks on this list, liberals are definitely most scared of Mr. West. U.S. President Barack Obama has campaigned against him. The Democratic-dominant Congressional Black Caucus has campaigned against him. The Democratic Party of Florida even "accidentally" released his Social Security number.
Why are they scared? For one, he is a staunch conservative, fervent supporter of the U.S. military, and no lover of Islam. He can round up the troops (his "Revolution" speech has garnered 2.3 million views on YouTube). He has raised a whopping $5.4 million - more than any other congressional challenger in America - for his congressional bid. Mr. West has a slight lead in the polls (although within the margin of error). Florida's 22nd Congressional District is a swing district (Cook Partisan Voting Index: D+1), but momentum is on Mr. West's side in an anti-incumbent election cycle. Especially since he garnered more votes in the Republican primary than all of the candidates in the Democratic primary combined received.
From CNN, about the moderate-conservative Republican: "Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is taking steps to run for another two-year term and outlined his plan in a conference call last week to a handful of state GOP officials, three Republicans familiar with call tell CNN. Steele, who wraps up a 48 state bus tour this week, already has picked two current RNC staffers to help run his re-election campaign and the chairman told people on the call that the reception he has received during the bus tour is tremendous, according to one of the Republicans. The Republicans spoke about the call only on the condition of anonymity."
Read about other races at Booker Rising!
Visit Black Republicans at: http://blackgop.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network
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