How many Republicans will vote for a Black man for governor?

Filed 1h ago · Via Florida Phoenix · The Buffoon Desk

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Comic Plodding

Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: The White House from Washington, DC · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

Rep. Byron Donalds, endorsed by President Trump, is a step closer to Florida's governorship, which would be a historic first for the state in its 181-year history of never electing a Black governor. His primary win nonetheless sparked debate after he lost 17 counties, 16 of them roughly 92% white, while winning 39 of 40 more diverse counties.

Commentators including Bill Maher pointed to his weak showing in the rural Panhandle, sometimes called the Redneck Riviera, as evidence that racial bias persists even among voters who otherwise favor his politics. Donalds pushed back, calling Florida a meritocracy and noting he closed with 48% of the statewide primary vote.

Black commentators are also split: some see a Donalds win as a milestone, others argue his policy positions on voting rights, criminal justice, and civil rights enforcement undercut the significance of the 'first,' with critics suggesting the GOP benefits from his candidacy regardless of his personal views.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

A party can hand a man every endorsement, every ad dollar, and still watch a chunk of its own base balk once his name is on a ballot with his face attached. That is not a mystery requiring a panel of pundits, though apparently it requires one anyway. The county map already said what it had to say, and no amount of 'meritocracy' talk changes which counties it was.

Source: Read the original at Florida Phoenix → Scored: Comic Plodding · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

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