Biden and Patrick would both have appeal to many black voters due to their Obama connections. But Biden’s role as architect of the 1994 Crime Bill could present a problem when juxtaposed against Patrick’s civil rights and criminal justice work during the same era, especially among younger black voters who are unenthusiastic about Biden and have yet to rally behind a single candidate.
Still, Patrick would face a reasonable amount of scrutiny from those voters, especially those aligned with the activist community.
“People like him. But I also think that people are misjudging this electorate in some ways,” said Adriane Shropshire, executive director of BlackPAC, an organization that supports candidates who champion social justice issues.
“Gov. Patrick would have a lot of ground to make up with voters including black voters,” she said. “I suppose there’s a path in the early states through New Hampshire and South Carolina but he will have to reckon with challenging issues surrounding his record — housing and foreclosure issues, as an example — that black voters will use to evaluate him and he will have to up his profile with those voters with lightning speed.”
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