The results of a new ABC News/USA Today/Columbia University poll show divides among the races, in vote choices, issue concerns, life experiences and
identity. A random sample of 1,941 adults, 1,032 blacks and 315 Hispanics, were interviewed for the poll on race, politics and society. Here are some of the results:
- Regardless of which candidate they prefer, 61% of Americans – 70% of blacks, and about six in 10 whites and Hispanics – think Obama's candidacy will change the way blacks think about themselves, and nearly all who feel that way say it'll be for the better.
- Seven in 10 Americans think his candidacy represents broader progress for all blacks.
- Among registered voters, 92% of blacks, 57% of Hispanics, and 36% of whites support Obama over John McCain.
- Blacks are the single most reliable Democratic voting group. 88% of blacks voted for John Kerry and 90% voted for Al Gore
- Nearly a third of whites, 32%, say blacks have too little influence over government policies; they support Obama by 58-39%.
- Only 72% of blacks expect Obama to win. Asked why, 40% cited racism or an unwillingness among whites to vote for Obama.
- 76% of blacks, 58% of Hispanics, and 29% of whites say they personally have encountered racial discrimination.
- Blacks split evenly, 45-46%, on whether they think of themselves first as blacks or as Americans. Among Hispanics - 42% think of themselves as Hispanics first, 50% as Americans first. 91% of whites see themselves first as Americans, while just 4% identify with race first.
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