By James B. Ewers Jr. Ed.D.
Some years back, there was a popular R&B group, Archie Bell and The Drells from Houston Texas. One of their hit songs was, “Gonna be A Showdown”.
The lyrics were, “hey, hey there’s gonna be a showdown. Hey, hey there’s gonna be a showdown, showdown, oh yeah”. If you are in the 4th quarter of your life, you danced to this record.
In a strange, yet telling way, we may be hearing this tune a lot in the coming weeks and months. It won’t be in a club, but it might be a part of a political commercial. Simply put, there is going to be a showdown for the presidency of the United States of America.
The primary campaigning for the Democrats and the Republicans is over. Independents are still trying to find their way. How they influence election results is going to be a major issue in November.
We know with certainty that President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will be the candidates for the Democratic Party and the Republican Party respectively. Super Tuesday unfortunately sealed the fate of Nikki Haley.
Money and time were her enemies, so she suspended her campaign on Wednesday, March 6th.
From the onset, former South Carolina Governor Haley was running an uphill race. Her message was anti-Trump however it did not resonate with most Republican voters. The miracle win that she needed never happened. The handwriting on the wall became clearer as she was defeated in her home state.
She did win the state of Vermont, however it was too little, too late. As her supporters cheered for her as she made her exit speech, she did not endorse Mr. Trump.
Reports say that 79% of Haley’s voters say they would be dissatisfied if Trump was the nominee. So, it begs the question, what will become of those voters who chose Nikki Haley? The Biden campaign says there is a place for them in his campaign. It is my thinking there will be some who vote for President Biden while others may stay vote for Mr. Trump.
There are critics and pundits lining up to say that the former president is not as popular with independent voters. In a recent Quinnipiac University poll, it showed Biden with a small lead over Trump.
People of color and women will also play a pivotal role in who becomes the next president. A group of undecided Black voters in North Carolina said they were not happy with either candidate.
A resident of the state said, “I feel like it’s a lesser of two evils. It’s either a politician who is making attempts to do things for the entire country, or someone who’s just about themselves or their party and their people.” Still, another resident said, “I don’t want to go through another four years of his Make America Great Again and I don’t want to go through another four years of Biden being indecisive as to what he’s going to do.”
It is safe to say that both candidates have some heavy lifting to do as they seek to secure votes to be president.
Whether you like him or not, Mr. Trump has galvanized a sizable group of voters. This momentum does not seem to be slowing down. Most are saying that the Republican Party is now his party.
However, there are some factors that may derail his bid to become president. Voters will have to decide how his legal problems will impact his bid to become president. Being in and out of court is a clear and present danger. Can he run the country and be in court at the same time?
The November election will be one for the history books. Grover Cleveland is the only US president to lose an election and then return to the office four years later.
Dr. James B. Ewers, Jr. is a long- time educator who hails from Winston Salem, N.C. One of the top tennis players in the state, he was inducted into the Black Tennis Hall of Fame in January 2021. A graduate of Johnson C. Smith University, he received his M. A. degree in Education from Catholic University in Washington, DC, and Ed. D. degree in Education from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA. He has also done post-doctoral studies at Harvard University and Ewers is a life member of the NAACP and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
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