By David Bositis
Senior Research Associate
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

David Paterson, New York state’s lieutenant governor, will move into the state’s top job next week after Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s resignation takes effect on Monday, March 17.

Paterson (D-NY) is the third African American elected governor in the history of the United States.  Douglas Wilder (D-VA), elected in 1989, was the first black governor, and Deval Patrick (D-MA), elected in 2006 was the second.  David Paterson, running with Elliot Spitzer, was elected lieutenant governor of New York in 2006.

David Paterson was first elected to office in 1985 representing a state senate district, which had been represented by his father, Basil Paterson, who was the first African American to hold statewide office in New York after being appointed secretary of state by Governor Hugh Carey in 1979.

David Paterson rose through the ranks in the state senate to become the senate minority leader before being tapped by Spitzer as his running mate in 2006.  He is not only distinguished by being the first black governor of New York, he is also legally blind, which makes him the first governor in U.S. history with that disability.

H. Carl McCall was the first African American elected to statewide office, when he became state comptroller in 1994.

In Indiana, Andre Carson, a City-County Council member from Indianapolis, won the right to succeed his grandmother, the late Rep. Julia Carson, in the final 10 months of her term in Congress.

Democrat Carson defeated Republican state Rep. Jon Elrod in a special election Tuesday by winning 54 percent of the vote. A primary will be held in May to decide who will run in the November election for a full term representing Indiana’s seventh district.

Deven D. Anderson is a senior professional English major at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, S.C. The Andrews, S.C., native participated in the 2007 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Summer Internship Program and CBC Institute “Political Boot Camp.” During his tenure at S.C. State, he has served as president of the Student Government Association (2006-2007), editor of The Collegian and vice president of the campus NAACP chapter. He was selected as a “Who’s who Among American Colleges and University” and is a spring 2005 initiate of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He is a page for the South Carolina House of Representatives and a program assistant within the office of the university’s associate vice president of academic affairs.

Dear Joint Center Journal:

The reception for Sen. Barack Obama Tuesday (Jan. 22) at S.C. State University (in Orangeburg, S.C.) was filled with excitement, hope, and inspiration. It was evident that young people are committed to his vision for change; many of them waited in the rain, just barely gaining entry into the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center. To see my peers standing in line for something other than a party, refund checks, or a concert shows that someone has “the audacity to hope.” This event only highlights the excitement that students have for Mr. Obama versus the other Democratic candidates. The inspiring message that he has to offer -- along with the celebrity surrogates -- brings something fresh and new.

I served as the coordinator for “The Justice Speak Out” sponsored by Black Youth Vote, a project sponsored by the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. This was my first major test as an organizer. Working on a tight time schedule, I collaborated with the “movers and shakers” on my campus including the Student Government Association, (SGA), the NAACP and the Pan-Hellenic Council presidents. We also connected with SGAs at other, neighboring HBCU’s including at: Claflin University (in Orangeburg, S.C.) and Voorhees College (in Denmark, S.C.).

We canvassed the campus, knocked on doors, did e-mail blasts, posted flyers, used Facebook and made announcements in various classes. In spite of the rain and a last- minute change in location, the turnout for the event was wonderful. More than 150 college students from various schools in South Carolina were represented, as well as a group of students from Howard University in Washington, D.C. Even some the members NCBCP drove from Atlanta.

All who were in attendance were empowered by the words of S.C. Rep. Bakari Sellers, BYV! Co-Chair Chancee Lundy and BET’s Jeff Johnson. Students left feeling empowered and excited about making a difference by having their votes count in the upcoming primaries.

Right now, we are in the process of making contact with those in attendance to make sure they go out and vote on Saturday; we are using the information on their pledge cards to reach them. These cards were signed by each person in attendance as a pledge to go out and vote and to make their votes count.

Students are approaching this presidential campaign with a different perspective since South Carolina is a key early primary state. There is universal understanding that South Carolina has the power to influence the nomination for either party because of the diversity of South Carolina, with half of the voters being African-American. I believe that the political atmosphere can be sensed on our campus, so many students have no choice but to give some thought to becoming politically engaged due to the many stops made by various presidential campaigns.

Even if they aren’t talking about it everyday, there is at least some knowledge on the importance of this upcoming election. There are some students who volunteer with the local campaign offices; many of them are a short walk from the campus. I think the candidacy for Sen. Obama has inspired a lot of young voters not only because he is African American but also because he brings that same youthful passion that young people felt during the time of John F. Kennedy and when they heard the masterful rhetoric that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used while moving our people towards freedom.

Sen. Obama so far has had the best presence on this campus. One of his regional campaign offices is located across the street. His wife has been to our campus and Mr. Obama has visited our campus twice, along with many of his notable surrogates. The other candidates haven’t visited campus except for their participation during the 2007 Democratic Presidential Debate sponsored by NBC.

Sen. John McCain has been the only Republican candidate to visit our campus, with little excitement from the students.

Political activity on campus is taking a different direction because we are the largest HBCU in the state as well as the only HBCU that is a public institution. A lot of attention is placed upon our school by those who are seriously courting the black youth vote. I think that students finally understand the importance of being politically engaged and the level of political activity is improving.

A lot of students from S.C. State participated in the “King Day at the Dome” rally (on Jan. 21). Despite the extreme cold, many of our fraternities and sororities turned out in large numbers to celebrate the dream while continuing the fight to remove a symbol of hate and bigotry off the grounds of our State Capitol.  

Few students attended the (Democrats’) debate (in Myrtle Beach, S.C.) because of the distance as well as inability to gain entry into the event because of not having a ticket. While those who volunteered with various campaigns were in the area, many students watched the debates in their rooms.

By David Bositis
Senior Policy Analyst
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

The polls preceding the primary vote in New Hampshire on Tuesday missed the mark somewhat, but there apparently was no "Bradley" or "Wilder" effect in Hillary Clinton’s unexpected victory over Barack Obama.

Those special designations came into use after elections where the late Tom Bradley ran for governor of California and Douglas Wilder sought the governorship in Virginia. In each case, white voters told pollsters they would vote for a black candidate and then, in the privacy of the polling booth, voted otherwise.

In the New Hampshire primary, the evidence says that’s not what happened.

Pollster.com, which is the best and most reputable site on polling information, had as their pre-election polling estimate of Obama's New Hampshire vote 36.7 percent. The estimate was based upon a statistical analysis of many pre-election polls. Obama got 37 percent, which means their estimate was spot on--could not have been better.

Clinton's pre-election polling estimate was 30.4 percent -- so her victory with 39 percent was attributable to voters breaking for her on election day.

At least one analysis suggests the extra Clinton votes came at the expense of former senator John Edwards.

Tell us what you think about the disparity between the projections reflected in the polls and the actual vote totals in New Hampshire.