# Pre-Election Racial Studies How Will ‘The Bradley Effect' Affect Obama? By Bianca | Published 2008-11-03 | Social Good Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-bradley-effect-obama References: [en.wikipedia.org](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_effect) If the [Bradley Effect](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/airport-navigations) holds true, Obama could well be outvoted tomorrow… but some are predicting a reverse Bradley Effect. So, what is the Bradley Effect? Also known as the Wilder Effect, it is a highly relevant theory being discussed today, with the big election results only a day away. Essentially the Bradley Effect points out that many people who say they will vote for a non-white candidate in front of others, actually put down the name of the opposing Caucasian candidate on election day. “It was named for Tom Bradley, an African-American who lost the 1982 California governor’s race despite being ahead in [voter polls](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/openballot) going into the elections,” Wikipedia describes. The Bradley Effect could leave us in for some unpredicted surprises, as could its opposite. A “‘reverse Bradley effect’ is that some Republicans won’t openly say they will vote for a black candidate, but then do so,” according to Wikipedia. Image Sources: [TopNews](http://www.topnews.in/usa/people/john-mccain)|[FanPix](http://www.fanpix.net/gallery/barack-obama-pictures.htm) ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 1.7/10 - Popularity: 41% | Activity: 3% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: North America, Europe ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Social Good](https://www.trendhunter.com/socialgood) ## Key Themes ### Why This Trend Is Growing - **Bradley Effect:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Developing strategies to accurately forecast election outcomes by accounting for the Bradley Effect and its reverse. - **Reverse Bradley Effect:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Creating methods to identify and incentivize Republican voters who may not openly express support for a black candidate. ### Industries Being Reshaped - **Political Forecasting:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Developing advanced predictive models and algorithms to account for the Bradley Effect in election forecasting. - **Political Campaign Management:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Implementing targeted messaging and outreach strategies to engage and win over Republican voters who may exhibit the reverse Bradley Effect. - **Market Research:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Conducting thorough surveys and studies to measure and understand the impact of the Bradley Effect and reverse Bradley Effect on voter behavior. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Election Insights Tools](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/polymarket-election.md) - [Anxiety-Alleviating Election Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/election-escape.md) - [Engagement-Enhancing Election Tools](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/election-tool.md) - [Voting Day Rideshare Deals](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/voting-initiatives.md) - [Informative Election Games](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/roblox-3.md) - [Political Campaign Game Maps](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/freedom-town.md) - [Pop Culture Presidency Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/brat.md) - [Global Election Trackers](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/world-election-map.md) - [Vote-Encouraging Coin Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/electoral-coins.md)