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  The Racist Vote

  Posted Tuesday, April 22, 2008 10:01 PM | By Christopher Beam

  Yesterday Politico’s Roger Simon wondered how much of the vote Obama would lose by virtue of his race alone. Simon cites an AP poll in which eight percent of voters said they would not vote for a black man, but guesses that figure is low—it’s really the number of people who admit they’re racist. He ballparks the number at around 15 percent.
  

  Tonight's exit polls provide a lens, however blurry, through which to view the racist vote. CNN asked voters whether the race of the candidates was important to them. Twenty percent of voters said “yes,” and of that group 59 percent broke for Clinton. Meanwhile, voters who said “no” split between Clinton and Obama 50-50. So if you set aside the group that considers race important, the candidates tie.

  To zoom in a little, CNN also breaks down the voters by race. Of the whites who said that race is important to them, 75 percent broke for Clinton. Keep in mind this group is pretty small—only 13 percent of voters overall. But think about it: If you’re white, you tell pollsters that race helped determine who you voted for, and you vote for the white candidate, it’s not a particularly huge stretch to conclude that you’re a racist. (The corollary, of course--and this is where the argument gets messy--is that black voters who said they voted for Obama because of race are also racist. CNN doesn't have numbers on this.)
  

  For a while now, more Clinton voters have said they would not vote for Barack Obama in the general than Obama voters said they would not vote for Clinton. (Last month, a national poll showed that one in four Clinton voters would vote for McCain if Obama won, whereas one in five Obama voters would do the same if Clinton won.) It’s impossible to quantify exactly how much of that disparity you can chalk up to racism—especially given that many of the people Obama may have alienated in non-racial ways (the “bitter” comment, for example) happen to be white. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it contributes.

About Christopher Beam

• Christopher Beam is a Slate political reporter.

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