Black voter turnout in New Orleans was big...or maybe not
What to make of New Orleans' mayoral election? According to the Chronicle, black voters made the difference for Mayor Ray Nagin:
The most intriguing news out of this city's mayoral primary election is the story of what didn't happen: White voters failed to dominate at the polls Saturday as thousands of black voters returned home.
Nearly eight months after Hurricane Katrina decimated the majority of New Orleans' black neighborhoods, black voters kept incumbent Mayor C. Ray Nagin's candidacy alive, casting an estimated 90 percent of votes in his favor.
But according to the New York Times, black voter turnout was disappointing:
Black residents, whose neighborhoods were the most devastated by the storm, voted in much smaller numbers than whites did on Saturday, even more so than usual. White turnout is usually higher than black turnout, but the gap was about double what it is normally, analysts said Sunday.
As a result, most of the votes here were cast against Mr. Nagin, who is black, even though he came out on top in a crowded field, with 38 percent of the vote. If that trend holds, New Orleans will elect its first white mayor in nearly 30 years on May 20, when Mr. Nagin will face Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, who got 29 percent, in a runoff.
Wouldn't it be interesting to take race completely out of this story and see how the media reports the election returns?
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 04/24/06 08:16 AM | Print |
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