WHITE REACTIONS TO BLACK CANDIDATES - WHEN DOES RACE MATTER

This paper examines the role of race in elections where one of the candidates is black. Using the 1982 California gubernatorial election between Tom Bradley and George Deukmejian as a case study, the paper shows that whereas racial attitudes were a significant influence on the voting decisions of whites, Bradley's background did not stimulate an unusual level of racially motivated behavior. The paper argues that the impact of a candidate's race on voting depends on a number of contextual factors, including his prior record and campaign style. The paper also proposes a technique for comparing the results of biracial elections with contests where ah1 the candidates are white as a method for estimating the level of racial voting. © 1990 by the American Association for Public Opinion Research.