Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

In 2020, the Democratic Party in the U.S. will nominate a candidate to be their standard bearer against an incumbent president. Identity politics will be a key feature in the nominating process, as the country attempts to challenge the recent reported assaults against women and people of color. The intersection of race and gender will be a key characteristic in the nominating process for Democrats, as they seek to reclaim the White House after four years of conservative rule. African American women are the base of the Democratic Party and are important players in deciding elections. The Democratic Party will need to address the needs of their base by either selecting a person of color on the ticket and/or a woman. Ideally, the Party would find the most success in nominating either a women and/or a person of color. African American women are reliable voters, even though the Democratic Party does not show reciprocity in the relationship by making appointments on their behalf to the Supreme Court, leadership in the party or even as Capital Hill senior staffers. Recent movements that highlight the voice and political prowess of women include: #Me Too, and the Women’s March. Further, there has been an uptick in women seeking and holding offices at the local and federal level, which is a clear indicator of a groundswell in electoral politics. Accordingly, African Americans have demonstrated the same electoral power that women have shown. Particularly, the U.S. Senate race in Alabama highlighted the political might of African American women who facilitated the win of the Democratic candidate in a historic race. Moving forward, Democrats face a grim reality of being locked out of power by not having a “minoritized” figure on the national ticket. In a show of unity, Democrats can facilitate the nomination of the first women of color to the highest office in the land.