Blacks, Hispanics Vote for Kerry but Energize Both Campaigns

President Bush on Tuesday managed to win a higher percentage of Hispanic voters than he did in 2000, while black voters made John Kerry their clear choice.  Exit polls showed that Kerry held a 56 percent to 41 percent advantage among Hispanic voters. But that lead was about half the margin of victory Al Gore had over Bush four years ago. Bush garnered 10 percent of the black vote, a single percentage point higher than his 2000 tally. The Democratic challenger won 90 percent of the black vote. Adam Segal, director of the Hispanic Voter Project at Johns Hopkins University, said minority voters energized both campaigns, with Kerry having better results. "They made Hispanics and African-Americans the main focus of their base vote turnout effort," Segal said.  In the hotly contested swing states, minority voters stood in line for hours, casting ballots in what could be record numbers.  Voting was particularly heavy in Florida, where both candidates enjoyed significant minority bases - Bush with Cuban-Americans and Kerry with blacks and other Hispanics. [more]

• Blacks made up about 11 percent of all voters, Hispanics accounted for 9 percent. Fifty-five percent of Hispanics voted for Kerry. 90% of Blacks voted for Kerry.
  
• Latino voting nationwide appeared to have grown from 5.9 million in 2000 to 7.5 million or even 8 million, "the biggest bump we've ever had -- its never risen by more than 1 million" in a four-year cycle. But while Latinos voted Democrat in strong majorities, Bush may have cut into Kerry support in Florida and Nevada.
  
• Black voters also saw their numbers surge at the polls, perhaps by as much as 25.7 percent, to 13.2 million voters. [more]
• Churchgoers, white men strongly support Bush [more]
  
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• The Unbearable Darkness of Being [more]