First lady Michelle Obama stated that African Americans should only vote for the Democratic Party and not concern themselves with what other candidates are doing or saying on the ballot ahead of this year's midterm elections, according to an interview with a TV network whose programming is geared toward African-American adults.
Targeting the black community, Obama told "NewsOne Now" host Roland Martin on Monday that the Democrats are the only ones who could possibly best serve the African American communities, Breitbart reported.
"That's my message to voters. This isn't about Barack, it's not about the person on the ballot, it's about you," Obama said on TV One. "And for most of the people that we're talking to, a Democratic ticket is the clear ticket that we should be voting on, regardless of who said what or did this. That shouldn't even come into the equation."
"Voting is critical no matter who's on the ballot," the first lady continued. "And that's one of the things we have to continuously work on in our communities of new voters - folks who maybe voted for the first time because they voted for Barack Obama, young people who voted for the first time because they were inspired by this president."
Since recent polls have indicated that Republicans might gain control of Senate for the first time in nearly a decade, the Democratic party has been aggressively targeting African-American voters for Tuesday's midterm elections., NewsMax reported.
"African-American surge voters came out in force in 2008 and 2012, but they are not well positioned to do so again in 2014," pollster Cornell Belcher wrote in a confidential memo last month that was obtained by The New York Times. "In fact, over half aren't even sure when the midterm elections are taking place."
If the party failed to attract more African American voters this election, Belcher also predicted "crushing Democratic losses across the country."
Additionally, Democratic Rep. Marcia L. Fudge of Ohio, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said that without the "black . . . and the brown vote," Democrats were slated to lose.
"Anybody who looks at the data realizes that if the black vote, and the brown vote, doesn't turn out, we can't win. It's just that simple," Fudge said, referring to black and Latino voters. "If we don't turn out, we cannot hold the Senate."
Meanwhile, some experts have stated that increasing favor of issues such as gay marriage and immigration has been responsible for driving away African-American voters, according to NewsMax.
On Monday, Vice President Joe Biden said that he did not agree with the growing consensus that Republicans are poised to take control of the Senate, according to an exclusive interview with CNN. And even if the Republicans emerge victorious, Biden expects them to "get things done."
"I predict ... we're gonna keep the Senate," he told CNN Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger. "I've been in 67 races all told and I don't get the feeling that the oddsmakers are getting."
