Voters of all races say most politicians play the “race card” to win elections rather than address actual race-related issues, according to a poll released Monday.
A Rasmussen Reports survey found that 78 percent of likely voters polled agree that politicians “bring up race just to get elected,” while just 9 percent said they do so in order to get elected. The remaining 13 percent said they weren’t sure.
The poll comes as Democrats come under fire for a slew of racially charged mailers, fliers and ads aimed at boosting turnout in traditionally Democratic black communities.
The tight North Carolina Senate race in particular has seen a surge in what critics describe as race-baiting, including a mailer with a photo of a lynching and a radio ad attempting to link the Republican candidate to the shooting death of black Florida teen Trayvon Martin.
While 68 percent of black voters agreed that politicians play the race card to drum up votes, they were also far more likely to concur that opposition to President Obama is based on racism. An overwhelming 87 percent of blacks polled said opposition to his policies is based on racism, not his policies.
Sixty-seven percent of whites and 56 percent other minority voters surveyed said such opposition was based on Mr. Obama’s policies. Just 24 percent of whites and 28 percent of other minority voters said racism was the dominant factor.
Race was also a much more election critical issue for blacks than others polled, with 79 percent describing racial issues as “very important” or “somewhat important.” Meanwhile, 35 percent of whites and 51 percent of other minority votes gave racial issues the same weight.
The survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted Oct. 31 to Nov. 1, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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