A big-time Maryland donor recently raised a lingering question in some corners of the Democratic Party: Can Black candidates run for and win statewide races?
The funny thing is that she answered her own question a few paragraphs down:
The questions come despite unprecedented representation by officeholders and candidates, from the vice president to members of Congress and mayors.
A snapshot: There are 57 Black U.S. House members, the most ever; Black women are mayors of seven of the 100 most-populous cities; three Black candidates were among the primary contestants for the Virginia governor's race last year, and three are currently competing in Maryland Democratic gubernatorial primary.
So while Black gubernatorial candidates in Maryland, a pretty narrow subset of total Black candidates mind you, have lost races, it's not a national problem.
The question becomes why is Axios making it one?
Of course we have an answer to that too, published the same day:
Top Democratic operatives see expanding defections by Hispanic voters to the GOP, worsening Democrats' outlook for November's midterms.
Why it matters: Democrats had hoped this might be a phenomenon specific to the Trump era. But new polling shows it accelerating, worrying party strategists about the top of the ticket in 2024.
A Wall Street Journal poll last week found that by 9 points, Hispanic voters said they'd back a Republican candidate for Congress over a Democrat. In November, the parties were tied.
What's happening: Democrats saw evidence of this shift in 2020 in House races in south Florida, Texas and southern New Mexico.
Key factors, operatives say, include skepticism among Hispanic voters about programs they view as handouts. And many Hispanics are social conservatives, with what L.A. Times columnist Gustavo Arellano has called a "rancho libertarianism streak." The national party also needs to do better with messages that distinguish among Americans whose families hailed from Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico or Central America, several Democrats tell me.
Our thought bubble: Latinos, especially Mexican Americans, still lean Democratic. But Democrats have been losing ground among these voters in recent elections because the party hasn't been paying enough attention to them.
That's weird, that's the same exact reason why Democrats have "lost" white voters. Not enough "attention" and Black candidates can't win even though they've won.
It's almost like Axios wants the Dems to lose.
Badly.
Now there's your burning question: why?
And we know why.
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