How Many Black Candidates Are Poised to Make History in 2022?

The 2022 congressional election season looks promising for black Americans seeking office. Hundreds of African Americans are running in this cycle, and many are poised to make history in their states. With race relations becoming a hot-button issue over the past five years, what impact could this have on  government and society?

Black Candidates Make a Showing

Many of the candidates running in this cycle will be the first black official in these positions if they win their elections. Tolulope Kevin Olasanoye, political director of the Collective PAC, told The Hill that he believes “the tide really shifted after George Floyd was murdered.” He suggested that a lot of African Americans “have been looking around to find folks who they could support” and decided to take the step themselves.

For starters, Charles Booker, who lost to Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), is giving it another shot. Now he is seeking Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) seat. If he wins, he will become Kentucky’s first black senator. He elicited some controversy when he published a video ad in which he wore a noose around his neck and called out Paul for voting against the Emmett Till Antilynching Act.

However, Booker might have a tough run. He has embraced a far-leftist platform featuring such policy proposals as Medicare for All and other progressive causes. In a state like Kentucky, this will probably not go over well. A Mason-Dixon poll recently showed Paul 16 points ahead of his challenger.

Andrea Campbell, who was elected the first black female Boston City Council president in 2018, is now running for Massachusetts attorney general. If she is victorious, she will be the state’s first black female to hold a statewide position. “Campbell’s goals include creating equitable, affordable health care and housing; criminal justice reform and better economic opportunities,” according to The Hill.

Jennifer-Ruth Green is running for the House of Representatives in Indiana. If she wins, she will be the only black female Republican in the lower chamber. She is promoting an America First platform that includes pro-life legislation and a free market economy.

Green won her primary with 45% of the vote. But, like Booker, she faces an uphill battle. The district for which she is running has been blue for decades. Her opponent, incumbent Frank Mrvan, defeated his Republican opponents by gathering 56% of the vote in 2020.

Green is a part of a massive wave of black Republican candidates running this season. In fact, with 81 African Americans running for congressional seats, the GOP has surpassed all prior records. Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL) told the Washington Examiner that more blacks are signing on to the Republican ticket because they see more right-leaning African Americans winning.

“They see me. They see Burgess. They saw [Representative Allen West of Florida]. They saw [Representative Mia Love of Utah]. They see [Virginia Lieutenant Governor] Winsome Sears. They see [North Carolina Lieutenant Governor] Mark Robinson,” he said. “And what they say is, ‘You know what? Maybe I should step up, too.’”

If more of these candidates win their historic elections – regardless of political affiliation – it might unleash a tide of blacks eager to participate in the political process. Wishful thinking? Perhaps. But more African Americans in positions of power will likely improve the state of race relations. After all, it will be difficult to argue that the country is based on white supremacy when more “people of color” are involved in running its government, right?

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