In a pivotal year for politics, many incumbents are either stepping aside or losing their primary races; this transformation is putting many new faces on the ballot. A surprise component is the large number of black candidates making the leap into the world of political office; however 32 of these candidates are running on the GOP ticket – not the Democratic ticket.
Many realize they have a real battle on their hands, but the election of America’s first black president has prompted other black leaders to run for Congress. Not only that, but many of these political hopefuls are running as Conservatives or tea party believers.
In a New York Times story Allen West who is running for Congress in Florida says, “I ran in 2008 and raised half a million dollars, and the state party didn’t support me and the national party didn’t support me,” he said. “But we came back and we’re running and things are looking great.”
The Republican Party has been without a black GOP member in Congress since 2003 and the GOP is betting on voter anger to put new faces on Capitol Hill.