Blacks, Hispanics Vote for Kerry but Energize Both Campaigns
Thursday, November 4, 2004 at 03:45PM
TheSpook
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]

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