'Doug Jones's problem': African American voters not energized by Alabama's Senate race

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Retweeted by David Fahrenthold: https://twitter.com/Fahrenthold

An important deep dive into the #ALSEN race. Sean has expertly gone there and seen for himself that Dem hopes and dreams may not easily become reality.

Link to tweet

Jones camp spending big on radio ads designed to win over African American voters. Also investing in billboards, online ads, mail:

Link to tweet

PowerPost

‘Doug Jones’s problem’: African American voters not energized by Alabama’s Senate race

By Sean Sullivan November 24 at 7:14 PM

....
With two-and-a-half weeks left until Election Day, a once unthinkable victory in the heart of the Deep South is within Jones’s reach, thanks largely to a string of sexual misconduct allegations against Republican candidate Roy Moore.

Jones’s campaign believes he can win only if he pieces together an unusually delicate coalition built on intense support from core Democrats and some crossover votes from Republicans disgusted with Moore. Crucial to that formula is a massive mobilization of African Americans, who make up about a quarter of Alabama’s electorate and tend to vote heavily Democratic.

Yet, in interviews in recent days, African American elected officials, community leaders and voters expressed concern that the Jones campaign’s turnout plan was at risk of falling short. ... “Right now, many African Americans do not know there is an election on December 12,” said state Sen. Hank Sanders (D), who is black and supports Jones.

The challenge for Jones is clear. According to Democrats working on the race, Jones, who is white, must secure more than 90 percent of the black vote while boosting black turnout to account for between 25 and 30 percent of the electorate — similar to the levels that turned out for Barack Obama, the country’s first black president.
....

Sean Sullivan has covered national politics for The Washington Post since 2012.
Follow @WaPoSean