Can Black Candidates Win Statewide Elections?

While black office-holding has steadily increased at the local level, statewide successes have been few and far between. Edward Brooke, the two-term (1967-1979) Republican from Massachusetts, has been the only black senator in this century. Until Douglas Wilder's 1989 election in Virginia, no black had ever been elected governor. (In 1873, the black lieutenant-governor of Louisiana, P.B.S. Pinchbeck, was elevated to the post of acting governor for forty-three days.) Below these top offices, the dismal record continues. In 1979 there were six statewide black elected officials; by 1985 there were only three. One of these officials, Illinois State Comptroller Roland Burris, called the group an endangered species.' Women and Hispanics have won more top-level statewide offices than blacks. There are currently three women governors and two senators; four Hispanic governors have been elected since 1974. In this century, there have been two Hispanic senators.2 A statewide base is a critical factor in attaining national leadership. Excluding generals and vice-presidents, most presidential nominees have previously served as senators or governors. The 1984 and 1988 Jesse Jackson campaigns raised interest in a black presidential candidacy. This article suggests that understanding