© 2024 90.7 WMFE. All Rights Reserved.
90.7 Orlando • 89.5 Ocala
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Black women's next targets: Governorships and Senate seats

US. Rep. Val Demings speaks to reporters at the First Baptist Church in Orlando about her role in the upcoming impeachment trial. Photo: Matthew Peddie, WMFE
US. Rep. Val Demings speaks to reporters at the First Baptist Church in Orlando about her role in the upcoming impeachment trial. Photo: Matthew Peddie, WMFE

ATLANTA (AP) — Black women are stepping up as Democratic candidates for governor and the U.S. Senate as the party looks to expand its footprint in Sun Belt battlegrounds.

Black women are running top-tier campaigns in North Carolina, Virginia and Florida, and they’ll likely be joined in the coming months by Georgia voting rights activist Stacey Abrams launching her second bid for governor.

Such a slate would have been virtually unthinkable a decade ago, even with Black women long providing an anchor for Democrats’ coalition.

But Democratic power players say there's a new paradigm: Black women are not only legitimate contenders for the highest offices, but in some cases are also Democrats' best shot.

Danielle Prieur is WMFE's education reporter.