Race and Racism in US Campaigns

Lately, much has been made about the state of disrepair of American democracy. Oddly enough, race and racism are almost always absent from these accounts. If campaigns, elections, and representation remain central to American democracy, and some researchers think they do, the impact of racial difference must be considered. This chapter undertakes to examine work in this vein, hoping to shed light on the continuing significance or race and racism. In the end, it shows that appeals to race and racism continues to play a key role in the American democratic experiment.