This article is part of a series on |
Conservatism in the United States |
---|
In the United States, black conservatism is a political and social movement rooted in African-American communities that aligns largely with the American conservative movement, including the Christian right. [1] Black conservatism emphasizes social conservatism, traditionalism, patriotism, capitalism and free markets. What characterizes a "black conservative" has changed over time, and proponents do not necessarily share the same political philosophy.
Influential black conservatives in the early 21st century who have held public office include U.S. Senator Tim Scott, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, and Cabinet secretaries Ben Carson, Condoleezza Rice, and Colin Powell. Thomas Sowell, Shelby Steele, Armstrong Williams, Larry Elder, Walter Williams, and Jason L. Riley are among the most influential black conservative political commentators. [2]
One of the main characteristics of black conservatism is its emphasis on personal choice and responsibilities above socioeconomic status and institutional racism. In the tradition of African-American politics and intellectual life, black conservatives tend to side with Booker T. Washington, as contrasted with W. E. B. Du Bois. [3] For many black conservatives, the key mission is to bring repair and success to the black community by applying the following fundamental principles:
Black conservatives typically oppose affirmative action and tend to argue that efforts to obtain reparations for slavery are either misguided or counter-productive. Black conservatives tend to be self-critical of aspects of African-American culture that they believe have created poverty and dependency. [5]
Ebony , in its May 2001 "100+ Most Influential Black Americans" issue, did not include a number of influential African Americans such as Thomas Sowell, Shelby Steele, Armstrong Williams, Walter Williams and, most notably, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The Economist described the exclusion of Justice Thomas from the list as spiteful. [6]
According to a 2004 study [ by whom? ], 14% of blacks identified as "Conservative" or "Extremely Conservative"with another 14% identifying as slightly conservative. However, the same study indicated that less than ten percent identified as Republican or Republican-leaning. [7] [ dead link ][ original research? ] Likewise, a 2007 Pew Research Center survey showed that 19% of blacks identified as Religious Right. [8] In 2004, though, the Pew Research Center indicated only 7% of blacks identified as Republican. [9]
A National Election Pool poll showed that support for California Proposition 8 (2008) (a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as an opposite-sex union) was strong among African-American voters; 70% of those interviewed in the exit poll—a higher percentage than any other racial group—stated that they voted in favor of Proposition 8. [10] Polls by both the Associated Press and CNN mirrored this data, reporting support among black voters to be at 70% [11] and 75%, [12] respectively. African-American support was considered crucial to the Proposition's passage because African Americans made up an unusually large percentage of voters in 2008; the presence of African-American presidential candidate Barack Obama on the ballot was believed to have increased African-American voter turnout. [13]
From Reconstruction up until the New Deal, the black population tended to vote Republican. During that period, the Republican Party—particularly in the Southern United States—was seen as more racially liberal than the Democratic Party, primarily because of the role of the Southern wing of the Democratic Party as the party of racial segregation and the Republican Party's roots in the abolitionist movement (see Dixiecrats).
Blacks started to shift in significant numbers to the Democrats with the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt [14] and continued with the election of John F. Kennedy. Among Truman Administration officials, the publication of Henry Lee Moon's Balance of Power spurred Democratic partisan support for African-American constituencies. [15] This shift was also influenced by Herbert Hoover's practice of firing loyal African-Americans from positions within the Republican Party, in order to increase his appeal to Southern white voters. [16] This can be considered an early example of a set of Republican Party methods that were later termed the Southern Strategy. [17] [ better source needed ]
This is a timeline of significant events in African-American history that have shaped the conservative movement in the United States.
The Ohio Republican Party is the Ohio affiliate of the Republican Party. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1854.
The 1978 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, in the middle of Democratic President Jimmy Carter's term. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies.
New York is a Democratic stronghold and is considered one of the "Big Three" Democratic strongholds alongside California and Illinois. The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of New York:
The Alabama Republican Party is the state affiliate of the Republican Party in Alabama. It is the dominant political party in Alabama. The state party is governed by the Alabama Republican Executive Committee. The committee usually meets twice a year. As of the February 23, 2019 meeting in Birmingham, the committee is composed of 463 members. Most of the committee's members are elected in district elections across Alabama. The district members are elected in the Republican Primary once every four years, with the most recent election for the committee having been on June 5, 2018. The new committee takes office following the general election in November 2018. In addition, all 67 county GOP chairmen have automatic seats as voting members. The state chairman can appoint 10 members. Each county committee can appoint bonus members based on a formula that theoretically could add 312 seats, although that formula currently calls for only about 50 seats.
Washington ratified its constitution and held its first state elections in 1889, the year it was admitted to the union as a state. It established the positions of governor, lieutenant governor, Secretary of State, attorney general, state treasurer, state auditor, Commissioner of Public Lands, and Superintendent of Public Instruction. The position of insurance commissioner was legislatively established in 1907. All positions are elected to four-year terms, concurrent with presidential elections. Washington is one of three states that elects nine separate statewide officials, while six others elect ten.
The Government of Mississippi is the government of the U.S. state of Mississippi. Power in Mississippi's government is distributed by the state's Constitution between the executive and legislative branches. The state's current governor is Tate Reeves. The Mississippi Legislature consists of the House of Representatives and Senate. Mississippi is one of only five states that elects its state officials in odd numbered years. Mississippi holds elections for these offices every four years in the years preceding Presidential election years. Thus, the last year when Mississippi elected a Governor was 2019, and the next gubernatorial election will occur in 2023.
Latino Americans make up an increasing share of the United States (U.S.) electorate. A record 29 million Latinos were eligible to vote in the 2018 midterm elections, accounting for 12.8% of all eligible voters, a new high. They made up an estimated 11% of all voters nationwide on Election Day, nearly matching their share of the U.S. eligible voter population.
The 2018 United States Senate election in Virginia took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the Commonwealth of Virginia, concurrently with other elections to the U.S. Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who had been his party's nominee for vice president two years earlier, was re-elected to a second term in office, winning this seat by the largest margin since 1988. This was the first election since 1994 that anyone had been re-elected to this seat.
The 2019 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2019, to choose the next Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Governor Phil Bryant was ineligible to run for a third term due to term limits. The Democratic Party nominated incumbent Attorney General Jim Hood, the only Democrat holding statewide office in Mississippi; the Republican Party nominated incumbent Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves. In the general election, Reeves defeated Hood by a margin of 5.08%, with Reeves significantly underperforming Trump who won the state by 17 points, 3 years prior.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans have given fluctuating levels of support to conservative movements and political parties in the United States, particularly the Republican Party. Many Republican Party members with these origins have obtained posts as elected representatives and political appointments as office holders.
The 2022 United States Senate election in Utah was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Utah. Incumbent senator Mike Lee, who was first elected in 2010, won re-election to a third term, defeating Evan McMullin, an independent candidate who was endorsed by the Utah Democratic Party.
The 2022 Michigan gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Michigan. Incumbent Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer ran for re-election to a second term and faced former political commentator Tudor Dixon in the general election. Whitmer defeated Dixon by a margin of 10.6 percentage points, a wider margin than polls indicated as well as a wider margin than Whitmer's first victory four years prior. According to Ron Brownstein of CNN in 2023, Whitmer won independent voters by double-digit margins, which contributed to Dixon's defeat.
The 2022 United States Senate election in Ohio was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Ohio. Republican writer and venture capitalist J. D. Vance defeated Democratic U.S. Representative Tim Ryan to succeed retiring incumbent Republican Rob Portman.
The 2022 Wisconsin fall general election was held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on November 8, 2022. All of Wisconsin's partisan executive and administrative offices were up for election, as well as one of Wisconsin's U.S. Senate seats, Wisconsin's eight seats in the United States House of Representatives, the seventeen odd-numbered seats in the Wisconsin State Senate, and all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly. The 2022 Wisconsin fall primary was held on August 9, 2022.
The 2022 Texas elections were held on November 8, 2022. Primary elections were held on March 1, with runoffs held on May 24 for primary candidates who did not receive a majority of the vote.
The 2022 Alaska at-large congressional district special election was held on August 16 to fill the seat left vacant after the death of Republican incumbent Don Young. Mary Peltola defeated former governor Sarah Palin in the election, becoming the first Democrat to represent Alaska in the House since 1972, the first Alaska Native elected to Congress, and the first woman elected to represent Alaska in the House.
Christian Right activists allied with black conservatives to make their causes appear more mainstream across racial and class lines. In this vein, the Family Research Council (the lobbying affiliate of Focus on the Family) recently named as vice-president Kay Cole James, a black anti-abortion activist.
herbert hoover fired black republicans.