Exit Polls: African-Americans and Hispanic Voters

Democrats tried desperately to motivate African-Americans, Hispanics, and single women to vote in the 2014 midterm elections. But were they successful?

Traditionally, these three groups sit-out midterms and vote only in presidential elections.

African-Americans

For example, black turnout in the 2010 midterms was 44 percent, down 21 percentage points from the 2008 presidential election. Hispanic turnout was even lower than black turnout for the 2010 midterm elections: 31 percent, down 19 points from the 2008 presidential election.

In the weeks leading up to the 2014 midterms, President Barack Obama's popularity dipped into the low 40-percent range. However, among African-Americans his popularity continued to soar in the upper 90-percent range.

Getting black voters to the ballot box could score huge gains for Democratic candidates. But it's not that easy.

Black voters are feeling lackluster about the candidates on the ballot. President Obama was not on the ticket and African-American enthusiasm for the president does not necessarily translate into excitement to the president's fellow Democrats.

To complicate matters, many Democratic candidates tried to distance themselves from the president because of his overall unpopularity, thus further alienating black voters.

Perhaps the most notable was Alison Lundergan Grimes, a Democrat who ran in Kentucky, who, when pressed by a reporter, would not even admit she voted for Obama in the general election. That type of action is more likely to depress black voter turnout.  

Although many Democratic candidates tried to distance themselves from Obama, he himself actually brought them back together. In a speech in October the president urged black constituents to vote in the midterms, saying even though his name was not on the ballot, every one of his policies is.

Then later in the month he reminded black voters that the Democrats running for re-election are all in his corner and voted with him to further his agenda.

Political pundits are wondering whether those comments succeeded in turning out the black vote or harming the candidates who are trying to distance themselves from the president.

Hispanic Vote

Although the Congressional Hispanic Caucus has tried to energize Hispanic voters this midterm election, it has not been easy because of disenchantment with the Obama administration regarding immigration reform, specifically delaying executive action on immigration until after the election.

A member of the caucus said the delay has made it harder to "register, motivate and mobilize" Latino voters.

Illinois Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez echoed that sentiment.

"It makes the job harder for me to generate enthusiasm among Americans to vote at all, let alone enthusiasm for voting for Democrats when there are members of my own party asking the president to hold his pen and his phone in abeyance until after voters vote."

In short, although Democratic leaders tried to generate the same type of enthusiam for the midterm elections among unmarried women, blacks and hispanics that they exhibit in presidential elections, the trend continued in 2014 as in previous midterms, leading to many of these voting groups to stay home.