Being labeled pro-Black hurt Republicans more than being labeled proslavery.

Evidence

Illinois Democrats won control of both houses and reelected Douglas in the 1858 midterm elections. Illinois Republicans learned that being branded pro-Black was more politically crippling than being branded proslavery. But in the rest of the North, Republicans did much better. — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning, 547

Categorization

• SEED: Article angle: the electoral calculus of anti-Black appeals in antislavery movements — how political actors calculate which label is more damaging, mapping onto modern campaign strategy.