Beyond the Base
The historic candidacy of a Black man is certainly a plausible explanation for a Democratic voting trend amongst Black populations. However, a perpetual question of the election was, would other minorities vote for a Black minority? Indeed, Hispanics were another highly sought voting population. The 2008 election proved to be an election where places of high Hispanic population voted Democratic. The cartogram illustrates that places such as the tip of Texas, Florida, and the East and West Coast, all with high Hispanic populations voted for Obama. However, some of the Midwest, and Texas, with high Hispanic populations voted Republican. This does not necessarily show a divided vote amongst Hispanics, but rather other regional voting variations. Nevertheless, the map illustrates that Obama captured supporters from beyond the collation of the African American minority.