Many will remember that, during the presidential election of 2004, incumbent President George W. Bush won reelection over Democratic challenger Senator John Kerry (D-Mass). Others will remember that African American Barack Obama (D-III) won a Senate seat in the state of Illinois. Still others may recollect that, in Georgia, an historic and precedent setting election occurred between two African Americans seeking a seat in the U.S. Senate. Republican, Herman Cain and Democrat, Denise Majette, sought not only their respective party's nomination, but they hoped to win, like Senator Obama, a seat in the Untied States Senate. Georgia witnessed its first African American, Attorney Maynard Jackson, run for the United States Senate in 1968 (Walton, 1971; Walton & Martin, 1971). This was followed by the 1972 senatorial campaign of Civil Rights activist Reverend Hosea William. Although these were the pioneering African American senatorial candidates from the state of Georgia, these efforts renewed a tradition in the state where African American political hopefuls added the U.S. Senate to their list of political goals and aspirations. By 2004, African Americans had won four of the thirteen congressional seats allocated to the state of Georgia by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. In 1992, Georgia elected its first black congresswoman, Cynthia McKinney, who remained in office for five consecutive terms. After a two year hiatus in 2002, congresswoman McKinney regained her office for a sixth term in 2004. Moreover, African American Democrats won two statewide elections in 1988, claiming the offices of the State Attorney General and the Commissioner of Labor. Both offices were recaptured in 2002. Therefore, future attempts at other high level elected positions among African American political aspirants are expected, particularly in the wake of prior political successes and due to the natural progression of political behavior.
