Rev James Meeks explains why he’s supporting GOP candidate Bruce Rauner

Many may assume the black man, especially from Chicago, is an automatic supporter of the Democratic Party. Reverend James Meeks has even spoken alongside Rev. Jesse Jackson and Democratic leaders in the state, but now the African-American preacher is speaking out against the status quo.

“The Democratic party just assume always that 97 percent of the African-American vote will go to the Democratic party. If that assumption is true, they never have to work for our vote,” Meeks said in an April 7 Fox article.

“Our schools are still broken and getting worse. We’re last in employment or business. Our neighborhoods are deplorable,” says Meeks. “And we still get the same promises from the Democratic party, but we don’t get any deliverable. I think it’s time we should look at another candidate.”

Political analysts point to the GOP garnering only 20% of the vote, but Chicago political analyst Thom Serafin says Meeks may be changing that.

“He understands what it means to turn out the vote here in the city. He is well respected,” he said.

Serafin also believes Meeks can avoid a backlash for breaking ranks with the big Democratic machine in Chicago, because he came up from the street and proved his mettle, both in politics and at the pulpit. 

“If you are going to challenge Reverend Meeks, you better have both feet planted on the ground. There aren’t too many people that are able to do that here in this city,” says Serafin.

“I would hope that I would get a chance to influence a lot of African-Americans to look at how we, as a voting bloc, [are] being taken for granted,” Meeks says.