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Bernie Sanders blames Democrat black candidate losses on uncomfortable 'white folks
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) addresses the Get Out the Vote Rally in support of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum at the University of Central Florida, CFE Arena on October 31, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Bernie Sanders blames Democrat black candidate losses on uncomfortable 'white folks

Sen. Bernie Sanders said white people who aren't comfortable voting for black candidates led to the high-profile defeats of Democratic gubernatorial candidates Andrew Gillum (Florida) and Stacey Abrams (Georgia), according to The Daily Beast.

Somehow, though, Sanders also believes that a person who votes based on a negative perception of a candidate's race is "not necessarily racist."

"I think you know there are a lot of white folks out there who are not necessarily racist who felt uncomfortable for the first time in their lives about whether or not they wanted to vote for an African-American," Sanders said, according to The Daily Beast. "I think next time around, by the way, it will be a lot easier for them to do that."

Both Gillum and Abrams were targeted by racist robocalls in their states, organized by white supremacist groups.

Blaming race, not policies?

Sanders' explanation for the failure of these supposed star politicians explicitly denies the idea that their extremely progressive policies may have dissuaded many voters.

The Vermont senator said relatively more-conservative Democratic candidates lost by larger margins because they "did not generate a great deal of excitement within the Democratic Party."

What do the exit polls show?

According to CBS News, Ron DeSantis won the white vote 60 percent to 39 percent. Gillum earned 86 percent of the black vote.

Breaking it down by gender, white men voted for DeSantis by a 69 percent to 31 percent margin; Gillum got 47 percent of the white female vote. 91 percent of black men and 82 percent of black women voted for Gillum.

In Georgia, 74 percent of white voters picked Brian Kemp, while 93 percent of black voters opted for Abrams.

73 percent of white men and 75 percent of white women voted for Kemp, and 88 percent of black men and 97 percent of black women voted for Abrams.

Both races are still being contested due to vote counting issues.

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