Illinois Republicans hold a convoluted loophole primary: The statewide primary winner earns 15 delegates, but the states other 54 delegates are elected directly on the ballot, with three at stake in each of the states 18 congressional districts. Each campaign files slates of relatively unknown supporters to run for delegate slots, and each would-be delegates presidential preference is listed beside his or her name. As a result, the top presidential candidate in each congressional district usually claims all three of the districts delegates.
Except yesterday, a handful of congressional districts split their delegates in ways that cast doubt on voters racial motivations. Did voters have genuine personal preferences for the mostly anonymous individuals running for these slots, or was it a case of whats in a name?
A FiveThirtyEight analysis of the dozen highest vote differentials within district-level Trump slates reveals a startling pattern: in all 12 cases, the highest vote-getting candidate had a common, Anglo-sounding name. But a majority of the trailing candidates had first or last names most commonly associated with Asian, Hispanic or African-American heritages. Of the 54 Trump delegate candidates in the state, two of the three worst-trailing candidates were the only two Trump candidates with Middle Eastern-sounding names.
