As the general election draws closer, opinion polls show the Democratic nominee U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois with a double-digit lead over Republican rival U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona. But some analysts think surveys don't accurately measure the support for black candidates because of the "Bradley effect". The term was coined after Tom Bradley lost his bid for governor of California in 1982. Bradley, who is African-American, had a solid lead before Election Day, only to lose the race by a slim margin.
It's also called the "Wilder effect," referring to L. Douglas Wilder, who in 1989 became the first African-American elected governor since Reconstruction when he won the Virginia gubernatorial race by a slim half a percent margin.
Wilder, now serving as the Mayor of Richmond, Virginia, discusses polling, race and the "Wilder effect."
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