[dangus]

>> We still hold the honor of electing the first and only African American to the Governor’s office. <<

Uh, Gov. Deval Patrick has a really deep tan?

[Daisyjane69]

I imagine what they’ll remind you is that he was not elected, but took office after Gov. Spitzer’s “extra curriculars.”

LOL

[wastoute]

Are you saying you believe that the Gov. of Mass. is the first black gov.? If so you may need to google "first black gov."

Μολὼν λάβε

[Corin Stormhands]

Uh, Gov. Deval Patrick has a really deep tan?

You are correct. Doug Wilder was the first, but not the only.

As for the rest of the article, maybe there's some truth to it. But more likely it's because the Democrats are not excited about Creigh Deeds and many African Americans see him as a rural bumpkin (as in country white guy).

In addition, Bob McDonnell has reached out to the African American community. And he's done so effectively. George Allen used to pull 20% of the black vote. I think McDonnell could see numbers higher than that.

[wildandcrazyrussian]

Actually, the very first African-American Governor anywhere in the United States was a Republican, way back in 1872:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._B._S._Pinchback

Political career

In 1863, during the Civil War, Pinchback traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana, and recruited African-American volunteers for the Union Army. He became captain of Company A, 1st Louisiana Native Guards (later reformed as the 73rd U. S. Colored Infantry Regiment). He resigned his commission because of racial prejudice against black officers.

After the war, Pinchback returned to New Orleans and became active in the Republican Party, participating in Reconstruction state conventions. In 1868, he organized the Fourth Ward Republican Club in New Orleans. That same year, he was elected as a State Senator, where he became senate president pro tempore of a Legislature that included 42 representatives of African American descent (half of the chamber, and seven of 36 seats in the Senate). In 1871 he became acting lieutenant governor upon the death of Oscar Dunn, the first elected African-American lieutenant governor of a U.S. state.

In 1872, the incumbent Republican governor Henry Clay Warmoth, suffered impeachment charges near the end of his term. State law required that Warmoth step aside until convicted or cleared of the charges. Pinchback, as lieutenant governor, succeeded as governor on December 9 and served for 35 days until the end of Warmoth's term. Warmoth was not convicted and the charges were eventually dropped."

snip

"...It was not until 1990 that another African American became governor of any U.S. state. In 1990, Douglas Wilder of Virginia became the second African-American state governor (and the first to be elected to office). Deval Patrick of Massachusetts was elected governor and took office in January 2007. David Paterson of New York became the fourth African-American governor on March 17, 2008 when he succeeded to office following the resignation of Eliot Spitzer. Wilder, Patrick and Paterson are all Democrats."