Black voters tilt toward de Blasio over Thompson as primary nears
Four years after overwhelming support from black voters nearly carried Bill Thompson to an improbable upset of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the lone African-American candidate for mayor is facing a stiff challenge for their support this time around.
The race’s new front-runner, Bill de Blasio, has resonated with black voters as a harsh critic of stop and frisk and the father of interracial children. And with the Sept. 10 primary fast approaching, de Blasio’s support among blacks appears to be growing.
“It is a mistake to say the African-American vote is monolithic,” said political consultant Basil Smikle. “The African-American community is changing — there is a diversity in income, in education, in where we live. … There’s not a knee-jerk reaction to get behind the black candidate.”