Democratic presidential contender John Kerry Wednesday appealed to blacks with a new advertising campaign and by giving a rising African-American political star a prime convention speaking spot.
The campaign announced $2 million worth of advertising targeting black voters, one of the Democratic party’s most loyal constituencies who shunned President Bush in the 2000 election.
A campaign spokesman also said Barack Obama, an Illinois state legislator running for the U.S. Senate, will deliver the party convention’s keynote address in Boston on Tuesday, July 27.
Although little-known outside Illinois, Obama, a Harvard-trained Chicago attorney, has won rave reviews from Washington insiders for his charisma and cross-racial appeal.
Blacks, who constituted 10 percent of the electorate in 2000, voted 9 to 1 for Democrat Al Gore in that year’s presidential election. Increasing black turnout, especially in battleground states such as Florida, will be a key component of Kerry’s strategy to rally the Democratic base.
“We recognize we must engage the African-American community early in this campaign,” said Alexis Herman, a Kerry campaign co-chair.
The ads, which emphasize the issues of jobs and health care, will run in key battleground states and major cities, targeting African-American radio stations and newspapers, as well as television.
The ads feature a black male voice-over and African-Americans asking “What can (Kerry) do for my community?”
Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill said the new advertising effort was the largest of its kind in presidential campaign history. But it is a relatively small expenditure by a campaign that has reported raising $180 million.
Obama is favored to win in November, becoming only the third African-American to be elected to the Senate since the 19th century. A sex scandal forced his Republican opponent to drop out.
Keynote convention addresses have helped propel figures such as former President Clinton and former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo onto the national political stage.
