The Boston Globe reports that a July Gallup Poll of minorities' political opinions indicated that African-American voters still overwhelmingly favor the Democratic Party, and the percentage of African-Americans who consider themselves Republicans remains at about 9 percent. However, according to the poll, of those African-American who vote GOP, most are under age 50 -- a generational shift that could be an opportunity for Republicans.
According to the Globe, Jeffrey M. Jones, who conducted the Gallup Poll, said it is too early to tell whether a slight increase in young black voters identifying with the Republican Party represents a long-term trend:
''There's a lot of hints out there that something is going on," he said. ''Nothing is totally conclusive, but the more hints there are out there, the more evidence you have that this could be real."
However, Republicans, billing themselves as ''the party of Lincoln," have launched a high-profile campaign to chip away at what has been a reliable voting block for Democrats. While older black voters still have strong attachments to the Democratic party, political specialists say, younger African-Americans are less likely to be bound by tradition: They grew up in an integrated society, they don't have personal memories of the civil rights movement, and they are more focused on entrepreneurship and opportunity, two of the GOP's selling points.
''The question people are going to have is, who wants to build on the civil right movement's success -- closing the wealth gap, closing the health gap, offering people real access to opportunity?" Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said in an interview.
He reiterated his pitch to black voters: ''Give us a chance, and we'll give you a choice."
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