Barrack Hussein Obama made history by becoming the first African American president of the United States of America in January 2009. He had been identified as a potential presidential candidate after his beautiful speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while he was Senator for Illinois. The possibility of an African American occupying the oval office was realized when Senator Obama became the first African American to win the nomination of a major party in the history of American Presidential Elections.
There have been African American Presidential Candidates whose bids were unsuccessful. They include:
Fredrick Douglass who was a Republican aspirant in the 1888 primaries
George Edwin Taylor who was a Southern Democrat in the July 1904 convention
Shirley Chisholm who garnered 180 delegates from the 1972 Democratic National Convention
Jesse Jackson who competed as a Democrat in the 1984 and 1988 presidential election
Alan Keyes competed as a Republican in 1996, 2000 and 2008 Republican primaries
Carol Moseley and Al Sharpton ran in 2004 Democratic Primaries
Herman Cain, a tea party Republican ran briefly in 2012 but later withdrew before the primaries
Ben Carson ran for the Republican Ticket in 2016
The impact of African American presidential candidates has been immense. They have made sure their voices were part of the national conversation.
Some names have been touted as possible leading contenders for the White House Race in the next election. Who could be the second Obama?
Senator Cory Booker
Senator Booker electrified the Democratic National Convention in 2016 with a rousing speech. Pundits drew parallels to the Obama Speech in the 2004 DNC. The 49-year-old junior senator for New Jersey has been touted as a possible future Obama. He has served as Senator since 2013. He has previously served as Mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013. He was Newark City Council Member for Central Ward between 1998 and 2002. Booker is a Yale Educated Lawyer. Obama is a lawyer too.
Senator Cory has been a champion of women’s rights, affirmative action and single – player healthcare. He is mostly considered neoliberal and a political moderate. His political ideologies align with those of the New Democrat Movement.
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama
The 54-year-old Former First Lady and Harvard trained Lawyer has been tipped as a suitable candidate for the top job. Michelle, like her husband Barrack, is a highly gifted orator and writer, Her 2016 DNC speech remains etched in the memories of Democrats when she endorsed Hillary Clinton for President.
She is a role model for women, an advocate for education, nutrition, healthy eating and poverty awareness. Her popularity during her stint as the first lady for the eight years was at an all-time high. If she were to run, she would make an incredible candidate and even a great commander in chief.
Oprah Winfrey
When receiving her Cecile B. DeMiller Award for lifetime achievement at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards Ceremony, she gave a rousing acceptance speech. That speech evoked a national debate on her possible 2020 run. It even got the attention of President Trump who sarcastically responded that he would beat Oprah were she to run against him in the next election. The 64-year-old entertainment mogul is the first black woman to acquire the status of a billionaire. With her expansive networks, she has been the greatest black philanthropist in American History.
Senator Kamala Devi Harris
The 54-year-old first time Senator from California has Jamaican and Indian descent. She served as a District Attorney for San Francisco for seven years. She then rose to become the Attorney General for California from January 2011 to January 2017. When she was DA, conviction rates rose from 52% to 67% for felony convictions, 85% for homicides and 75%convictions for drug dealers.
She has been considered a top contender for the 2020 Democratic Nomination for President. She has been a fierce critic of the Trump Administration.
Deval Patrick
The 62-year-old Civil Rights Lawyer and former Governor of Massachusetts has also been considered as a potential. He is the only African American to have served as Governor of Massachusetts. During his tenure, Patrick spearheaded the implementation of the health care reform program. He increased funding for education. Like Michelle, he hails from the South Side of Chicago.
Speculations on his possible run started way back in 2012. He, however, downplayed running in the 2016 election. He has now publicly hinted at a 2022 run in March this year. He came to the defense of Obama in 2008 when Obama was accused of plagiarizing Patrick‘s gubernatorial run speech of 2006. He was also a surrogate of the Obama re-election campaign. He had even been as possible nominee for the United States Associate Justice seat in 2016 and also Attorney General way back in 2008.
Conclusively, there are high profile politicos who are likely to fit into the Second Obama profile. Others include New York Senator Kirk Gillibard and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar. As 2020 approaches, the possibility of there being a second African American cannot be wished away.