U.S. Rep. Mel Watt said that the presidential campaign reminds him of the Harvey Gantt race.
The Charlotte Democrat, who served as campaign manager for Gantt's 1990 bid against U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, said in a conference call today that Gantt almost won that year.
"This campaign has some of those same racial dynamics — those same kind of interesting dynamics that don't coincide with every single campaign that we've had," he said in a conference call about his endorsement of Barack Obama.
Asked later to further explain his remarks, Watt said that "to stick our head in the sand and not acknowledge that would be to ignore the obvious."
He said that he has been surprised at how much Obama has continued to build support as the campaign has progressed, one reason why he changed his mind after earlier stating that he did not think America was ready for a black president.
Watt said that racism has diminished since Gantt's campaign and that a new generation of young voters will also help. He also said that there are some "countervailing" forces, since other voters will be mobilized to support Obama.
"That was 18 years ago, and this is a new day in America," he said.
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