Critics argue that national Democratic groups should have invested more in dynamic candidates like Val Demings, Cheri Beasley, and Stacey Abrams
Critics Argue the Democratic Party is Failing its Black Women CandidatesMelissa Sue Gerrits—Getty Images; Joe Raedle—Getty Imageshen Quentin James saw a chart tallying some of his party’s Senate spending this year, he was dismayed.
Beasley and Demings are both running for Senate in states Donald Trump won twice: North Carolina and Florida. If either wins, they will be the first Black senator from their state. But as Election Day approaches, they both look like underdogs, leading some to suggest that the Democratic Party should have done more to support its Black women candidates.
“We know that candidates of color and especially Black women are competitive at the highest level,” said Jessica Knight Henry, the DSCC’s deputy executive director and chief diversity and inclusion officer, in a statement to TIME.“The strength of these candidates and Democrats’ commitment to their campaigns has put Republicans on defense across the Senate map, and helped position Democrats to protect and expand our Senate majority.
“The Democratic Party has an opportunity to help them get over the hurdle,” says Rashad Robinson, president of the racial justice organization Color of Change. “The Democratic Party has to understand that Black folks, Black women are not going to be okay simply being the foot soldiers to drive white candidates into power,” he says.
But Abrams is still trailing in the polls. Black leaders feel that she deserved more—if not money, then belief. While Abrams has often faced harsher media coverage than her fellow Georgia Democrat, Senator Raphael Warnock, much of the chatter about Georgia in Democratic circles has focused on the Senate contest. It’s a feedback loop; the polls drive interest, which drive the polls.
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