Most recently, we can remember the re-election of our not-so-young anymore former senator from Illinois, President Obama. But there is no nook and cranny that you can hide in as an American without hearing from at least one person, "oh he just won because he's black and black people voted for him bleh bleh bleh". Although these statements are quite ignorant, there is some validity when it comes to how our race and ethnicity form our opinions.
The textbook states the ironically textbook example that historically, "black children have had less positive views of the president than white children", but that "the election of Barack Obama to the presidency should produce dramatic changes in these views". As we grow up around people of the same heritage and ethnicity as us, it is not surprising that we would unconsciously feel more comfortable with people who look more like "us", or the people that they are used to. Considering this, it could be plausible that an African American would prefer to vote for President Obama because he may be more relatable to them, but it should in no case be used as a derogatory remark as it is often thrown around as.
Beyond race, a person's heritage and ethnic background can play a huge role because different issues can be relevant to different groups of people. Such as in the case that something that is a "hot-button" issue for an African American, may not be relevant to a Hispanic person. Often polls see that Hispanics often favor government sponsored health insurance and bilingual education in addition to liberalized immigration policies, some issues that a Caucasian person may vote differently on.
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