Summary
At a breakfast briefing in Washington, D.C., shortly after Election Day 1993, GOP pollster and political consultant Ed Rollins told reporters that his candidate Christine Todd Whitman's win over Democratic incumbent Jim Florio in the New Jersey governor's race could partially be credited to paying prominent people in certain districts to encourage black voters to stay home. Democrats promptly sued Rollins, saying efforts to suppress the black vote violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as well as federal civil rights statutes and various constitutional amendments, and asked that the election results he invalidated. Rollins then insisted his remarks were merely part of a "psychological warfare" game he was playing with Florio campaign manager James Carville, meant to taunt the famous fast-talking Democratic consultant and throw him off balance in future races.
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Extract
The Playmakers
At a breakfast briefing in Washington, D.C., shortly after Election Day 1993, GOP pollster and political consultant Ed Rollins told reporters that his candidate Christine Todd Whitman's win over Democratic incumbent Jim Florio in the New Jersey governor's race could partially be credited to paying prominent people in certain districts to encourage black voters to stay home. As a result, he claimed, "To a certain extent, we suppressed their vote."
Democrats promptly sued Rollins, saying efforts to suppress the black vote violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as well as federal civil rights statutes and various constituti...See the full content of this document
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