Key backing for Obama slips in N.C.

October 17, 2011|By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

Mayor William Bell, shown talking with voters as he exited a Durham polling… (Travis Dove for The Boston…)

DURHAM, N.C. - When Lucille Richmond cast her ballot for Barack Obama three years ago, she, like many African-Americans, embraced the historic opportunity to help elect the nation’s first black president.

But waiting in line at the county employment security commission last week, the 52-year-old grandmother - who lost two food preparation jobs and is searching for full-time work - can’t muster the will to support Obama for a second term.

“I don’t see what he’s done,’’ said Richmond, a Democrat. “I’m not even going to waste my time and vote.’’

The president will visit North Carolina today in an attempt to stem such sentiments as he promotes his jobs bill. Obama’s most ardent supporters in Durham’s black community worry that waning enthusiasm among African-Americans may prevent him from repeating his razor-thin North Carolina victory of 2008.

The trip reflects the importance of a critical southern swing state to the reelection campaign. The Tar Heel State will also be in the national spotlight next summer, when Democrats converge on Charlotte for Obama’s nominating convention.

But unless the country begins a more rapid climb out of a stubborn recession that has left more than 14 million Americans out of work, the convention’s location may only serve as a poignant reminder of 2008, when Obama’s campaign inspired millions of African-Americans across the South to vote.

In Durham County, nearly 20 percent of African-Americans are unemployed, higher than the national rate and more than triple the rate of whites here, according to Census data.

“We may not be able to generate the enthusiasm we did in 2008,’’ said William Bell, mayor of Durham and the first black mayor in North Carolina to publicly endorse Obama in the last election. “The issues on people’s minds the most are the economy and jobs. He’s got to be more specific about how he’s going to turn this economy around, specific enough that the man on the street understands why he should vote.’’

The ambivalence about the upcoming election stands in direct contrast to the fervor and excitement that swept Obama into office in 2008, the first time a Democrat had carried the state since Jimmy Carter won in 1976. Obama’s message of hope and change resounded with a wide electorate and drew many first-time voters, minorities, and young people to the polls.

But the momentum appears to be lost. Obama’s job approval rating has dropped - even among African-Americans, a critical demographic whose overwhelming support in 2008 helped him win North Carolina.