Losing Miss. candidate blames racism

AP | 11/07/03 | DESIREE HUNTER

[kattracks]

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Democratic challenger for lieutenant governor Barbara Blackmon, who is black, said Thursday that her race is the reason she lost to the white Republican incumbent.

"It is my belief as well as the belief probably of over 300,000 voters of this state that if my pigmentation were different, I would be the lieutenant governor of this state," Blackmon, a state senator, said during a news conference at her campaign headquarters in Jackson.

Blackmon won 37 percent of the vote to 61 percent for Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck, according to unofficial returns.

Her comments were greeted with loud applause from those gathered for her first public appearance since Tuesday's election.

Blackmon and Democratic treasurer candidate Gary Anderson both lost their bids to become Mississippi's first black statewide official since Reconstruction.

"We had hoped that in 2003 — in the 21st century — that Mississippi was ready for a qualified, experienced, African American and it is still our hope that Mississippi will rise to the occasion in the very near future," Blackmon said.

Messages left late Thursday night for a Tuck spokesperson were not immediately returned.

Race wasn't the only factor at work. Beating an incumbent is always an uphill battle, and some analysts said Blackmon lost support when she asked Tuck to join her in signing an affidavit swearing she had not had an abortion. Blackmon was widely criticized in newspaper editorials, including one that said by making the challenge, she had "crossed a line of decency."

Anderson was the first black appointed director of the Department of Finance and Administration. He's also a former deputy director of the state's economic development agency and former bank vice president.

His Republican opponent, political newcomer Tate Reeves, who is white, is a 29-ear-old bank portfolio manager. Reeves won 52 percent of the vote, while Anderson had 46 percent.

Merle Black, professor of politics and government at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., said race seemed to be more of an issue in the state treasurer contest.

"It's not a high profile race, but if it comes down to the crunch, then the white voters may prefer the white Republican candidate, even though the white Republican candidate is less qualified," Black said. "That's where race could clearly be a factor."

Though Mississippi has nearly 900 black elected officials on the county and local levels, some election observers say skin color swayed many white voters. More than 867,891 people voted in Tuesday's election. Mississippi has a black population of almost 37 percent.

[leadpenny]

Losing Miss. candidate blames racism

Surprise, surprise!

In other news, the Sun is expected to rise in the east this morning.

[PFKEY]

Not to hijack your thread but if you wanna laugh go to DU Latest News forum.

Looks like a hacker has taken over control.

[JSteff]

Do they eve give up? I have had it with race being such an over used excuse for everything bad in America.
Maybe she needs to move somewhere skin pigment is not an issue.... Liberia, South Africa, Zimbabwe etc and see if they would vote for her.
If not then maybe she just $u<ks as a politician... which is what I suspect anyway.

[A CA Guy]

She's a racist from what she is saying.

[dc-zoo]

Well she got 37% of the vote and black folk are 37% of the voting pool so it looks like blacks were certainly voting by skin color. She's 37% right about the racism.

[flying Elvis]

The fact that she's a complete and utter whackjob of course had nothing to do with her loss.

[PaulJ]

I missed it.The site is no longer up.

[Qwinn]

"Beating an incumbent is always an uphill battle, and some analysts said Blackmon lost support when she asked Tuck to join her in signing an affidavit swearing she had not had an abortion. Blackmon was widely criticized in newspaper editorials, including one that said by making the challenge, she had "crossed a line of decency."

Seriously?! A democrat was playing the pro-life card?! Wow. Just - wow.

Qwinn

[Graybeard58]

He's slamming the hell out of them and they cant stop him.

[laredo44]

I'll bet the vast majority of voters couldn't tell you the race of these "down ticket" candidates. They probably voted based on party affiliation and name recognition.

[onyx]

This pathetic woman is certifiable. On election night, she claimed God told her she would win, and she uttered that proclaimation when she was a mere 200,000 votes behind Tuck.

[capitan_refugio]

Lovely. They are going to blame us.

[Fledermaus]

She needs to go to Hollywood and shuck and jive there. The end of this BS is near and I can't wait.

[PFKEY]

Moderator is asleep?

[PFKEY]

So right you are. I believe they called him a freeper troll.

[per loin]

Has she accused God of turning racist?

[afraidfortherepublic]

I wonder if she noticed that a REPUBLICAN also won the governorship in MS. Is it possible that voters were voting along PARTY lines, no racial lines? Or, they could have been voting along SANITY lines, which this lady seems to have left hers back at the train station.

[Adder]

"for a qualified, experienced, African American"

Maybe it was items one and two and not three??? Naaawwww...couldn't possibly be that.