I think Harold Ford, Jr., came closer to winning than he deserved to because of his race, not that he lost because of his race. He was an unpleasant young twit with no particular qualifications, far to the left of most of the people of his state, who got as far as he did (election to the House of Representatives) because of his family name.
I don’t know about that. Mind you, I dislike Harold Ford Jr because he’s liberal.
More than race, although it surely did help along with his last name, but I think his personality is his draw (which works wonders on the dims). He’s as slick a politician as you’ll find. Close you eyes sometimes and you’d think it was a conservative talking (Depending on the situation of course).
Even Ann Coulter likes him (for a dim) and backed him in the Senate race... whatever that’s worth.