For the last several presidential elections, candidates have battled for the swing voter — typically whites who could be persuaded to vote for a Republican or Democrat, depending on the candidate and the issue.
In his book, "Brown Is the New White - How the Demographic Revolution Has Created a New American Majority," Steve Phillips, a civil rights attorney and former elected official, says the emphasis on white working-class voters, white swing voters, and white conservatives misses the fact that the biggest block of new voters aren't white at all.
“We look at the Obama elections and that points the way toward the path to victory in this new multi-racial America,” Phillips told KPBS Midday Edition on Monday.
He noted that Obama was able to win his re-election in 2012 despite 5 million fewer white votes. The rising population of non-white voters has helped create what he calls “the new American majority,” he said.
Additionally, progressive whites often ally with people of color, and through this combination comprise the majority of 34 states across the U.S.
“So that fully provides the underpinnings for a whole new direction within the country,” he said.
