In the Democratic race before being the presumptive Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois had one major advantage over fellow Democratic hopefuls: the voting bloc of college students and young adults. This new and potential voting bloc has proven to be a significant advantage over Senator Hillary Clinton of New York. In short, this was one of Obama’s major advantages over Clinton.
That same voting bloc has felt that Obama’s diverse ethnic background is going to help him in the long run. Still, the United States is still far from being a melting pot. However, those that fit this vital voting bloc were born long after the end of segregation. These factors play into why Obama has been receiving support from this age group which has become quite a formidable voting bloc. These are voters born from at least the mid-70s and after.
The voting bloc of feminists was even split because of this turn of events. The young feminists have sided with Obama while the older feminists had sided with Clinton. Polls revealed that more Democrats that are 30 and under threw their support towards Obama. The percentage got lower with the older voters. The elderly voters had thrown their support behind Clinton.
“Rather than just being tolerant of race, we embrace and accept our differences,” says 29 year old, black state lawmaker, Alisha Thomas Morgan of Georgia. She adds: “We all recognize that racism still exists. But I think younger people are much more willing to get over it.”
It would look that the poll results show that the age brackets of voters and the ethnicity of a candidate goes hand and hand with each other. The younger voters rather than the older voters seem more used to people of different colors and ethnicity holding political office.
In short, many younger voters have felt that Obama’s ethnicity is pretty much an asset and an advantage. The younger voters have spoken and Obama has their undivided attention. To them, Obama’s ethnicity is a plus as a presidential candidate.
If that voting pulls through until November, this could be advantageous to Obama.
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