Racial Resentment and Vote Choice in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election

The victory of Barack Obama over John McCain in the 2008 presidential election marked a historic and pivotal moment in American politics. Many observers interpreted the election as heralding a new "post racial" politics. However, others noted that even though short-term forces were overwhelmingly pro-Democratic in 2008, Obama's overall vote among white voters barely increased on the share received by John Kerry in 2004. This study uses data from the American National Election Study to examine the effect of the racial attitudes-specifically racial resentment-of whites on vote choice in the 2008 presidential election. Findings show that racial resentment exerted a large influence on vote choice, one that was only exceeded by party identification. Furthermore, the effect of racial resentment was greater than in any prior election for which data on racial resentment is available.