Election 2020: The End of White Politics
“When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.”
I recently finished ‘The End of White Politics’ by Zerlina Maxwell, a political analyst and Obama & Hillary campaign alum. Her assertion in the book rings true with me: politics as we have known it in America has largely been white identity politics. But the reality is that the Democratic Party will win by prioritizing people of color.
Since Trump won in 2016, there has been a lot of chatter about focusing on the white working class voters in the key states Hillary lost: Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. But the reality is that Obama won these states because of record turnout amongst Black and Brown voters. Did you know that the last three Democratic Presidents — Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama — all won the presidency without winning the majority of white voters? Whitelash gave us Trump, a racist President who normalized xenophobia and skin-color prejudice. Prioritizing people of color is what will move us out of the Trump era. And that’s not just messaging to voters, that’s running candidates that represent these voters, and having people of color at the table as political consultants and campaign and administration staff.
Democrats win when they prioritize people of color. That’s not just messaging — it’s ongoing engagement, doing the work in these communities, and delivering on campaign promises to these communities. Lived experiences matter and not all lived experiences are the same. The reality is that white Americans have had a 300 year head start in this country, and the most impactful way to level the playing field is at the ballot box for this election and for every single election from here on out.
I believe Democrats are going to win big in six days in #Election2020. Since Trump’s election, in Texas alone, more than 1.8 million people have registered to vote, 60% of whom are people of color and/or under the age of 25. We have all seen the reports of early voting in the state shattering records, and just yesterday, NBC moved Texas from “lean Republican” to “toss up.”
The future of American politics is going to look very different than the past and I am here for it. I believe the Biden Harris administration is going to be the most diverse and representative Executive branch administration to date, and I am excited to see the shift in representation in the U.S House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, in state legislatures and at the local level.
Let’s all commit to doing the work in these crucial final days — whether that is making a last minute donation, text or phone banking, dropping campaign literature, canvassing, or following up with friends and family to ensure they vote in the most important election in our lifetime.
