Mediaboss Marketing

September 30, 2022

National Journal reports [i]n 2020, Republicans depended on candidates of color, women, and veterans to claw back House seats. The party is looking to them to deliver again this cycle.

NJ: In fact, candidates and operatives credit the shift towards diversity largely to two white men: McCarthy and NRCC Chair Tom Emmer. McCarthy and Emmer have made it a priority to recruit candidates that look like their districts. Theyve relied on House members to help them figure out who would be a good fit..

In case you missed it

Republicans count on candidates of color to expand the House map

National Journal

By Mini Racker

September 30, 2022

https://www.nationaljournal.com/s/718981/republicans-count-on-candidates-of-color-to-expand-the-house-map/?unlock=T3JRIAC8ANTTLO6K

On Wednesday, as Hurricane Ian bore down on the Florida district Anna Paulina Luna is likely to represent next year, she remained down the street from one of the last few open gas stations in the county.

A lot of my constituents could not leave, she said. And so I stayed.

Luna sees herself as a normal person trying to represent other normal people in Congress. Part of that has to do with her identity as a mixed-race Hispanic American. Growing up, she didnt consider it unusual that her dad spoke Spanish or that the elote man sold street corn alongside the local ice cream man.

But running for office, she began to realize how unique her perspective was. She was raised by a single mother. As a child, she had firsthand experience with the crime that disproportionately affects low-income minority communities; she recalled once seeing a man slumped over his steering wheel at an intersection and later overhearing her dad saying the man had been shot.

[My Hispanic identity] makes me a lot more passionate in regards to fighting to really correct this stereotype thats been put on to Hispanicsthat all Hispanics are quote-unquote illegal, she said. I actually get ticked off when I see that, because its not true. But then I also feel that immigrants are being used. If youre gonna come here, come here the correct way, cause youre gonna get hurt in the process.

In 2020, Republicans depended on candidates of color, women, and veterans to claw back House seats. The party is looking to them to deliver again this cycle.

Republicans doubling down on recruiting diverse, unique, interesting candidates was the biggest single game-changer in 2020, said Targeted Victory Vice President Sam Oh, who works with several nonwhite members of Congress. It shows candidates matter and every seat can be up for grabs. Their ability to raise money compared to what you would think is the kind of more prototypical or classic, traditional Republican candidate is a game-changer.

Now, the list of GOP congressional nominees of color is even longer. It includes at least 32 Latinos, 23 Black Americans, 12 Asian Americans, and three Native Americans.

Nineteen of them are running in districts The Cook Political Report deems competitive. Half a dozen of those are freshmen seeking reelection. One newcomer, John Gibbs, ousted a more moderate Republican in Michigans 3rd District. The other dozen represent GOP pick-up opportunities, positioning House Republicans to increase diversity in their ranks.

If you look at Juan Ciscomani in Arizona, Allan Fung in Rhode Island, George Logan in ConnecticutI mean, those candidates are putting those seats on the map for Republicans, Oh said. If you called me about Rhode Island or Connecticut five months ago, I wouldnt have thought those were serious deals. But were spending money there. That just shows the field is pretty expansive.

Party leaders are pouring some of the biggest sums into districts where people of color have become the partys nominees. A recent tally found that the Kevin McCarthy-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund has spent the most in general-election independent expenditures in Indianas 1st District, where Republicans see promise in Air Force veteran Jennifer-Ruth Green. Green, like other nonwhite Republicans, wants to be judged by her accomplishments rather than the color of her skin. But when it comes to deflecting Democratic attacks, her identity as an African American and Asian American woman doesnt hurt.

Part of this is [that] its not about what people campaign on, its what the voters perceive, said Greens general consultant, Tim Edson. Theres a lot of voters used to only white men running for office. And [Green] has a white man running against her in a very diverse district. Theres something to be said when voters look around and see hes trying to attack her as against this group or against that group. Shes a very accomplished minority woman.

I just think it makes it a little harder for people like [her Democratic opponent] Frank Mrvan to run that playbook, Edson continued. People are like, No, this is actually somebody that I can vote for and its a vote I can feel good about.

Democrats have encountered minefields when theyve tried to paint other Republicans of color negatively. In the competitive race in Californias 45th District, Democrat Jay Chen was forced on defense after he suggested Rep. Michelle Steel needs an interpreter. Despite the fact that Chen, like Steel, is Asian American, he received heavy criticism after her campaign labeled the comment as racist.

Luna said that she has faced ignorant comments on the campaign trail, with one journalist suggesting she looked too white to be Hispanic.

Theres certain things that we understand culturally, but Im not going to go around with a sombrero on my head and say Arriba! she said, noting that many Americans still have a lot to learn when it comes to talking about mixed-race candidates.

She also mentioned how, on the night of the Republican primary, her Democratic opponent said Luna wants to support supreme extreme ideas.

I thought about that, and was like, This is kind of interesting branding that theyre using, because when youre talking about fast food, its kind of a joke. You have the extreme chipotle taco at Taco Bell and all that, she said. And then I looked it up, and [Extreme Supreme] was actually a brand of guacamole. And this came shortly after Jill Biden made the comment about Hispanics being unique as breakfast tacos.

In addition to their ability to defang criticisms from Democrats and the media, Republicans of color can reach voters that other Republicans cant.

[Green has] been working hard at that outreach, whether its visiting small businesses, going to churches, just going out to community events where often you might not have Republicans, Edson said. Where they feel out of place and dont think they can go in and be effective advocates for themselves, shes at ease. This is her community and its a place where shes comfortable campaigning.

Other Black Republicans also suggested that they can help stretch the partys tent.

My journey in the political realm is an example of what our country offers, said Gibbs, echoing the American-Dream messaging diverse new members rode to Congress in 2020. My grandparents were sharecroppers in the South, and my parents didnt go to college. But both my sisters and myself all have masters degrees.

Voters will come up and ask me, How do we get more Black folks in the Republican Party? he added.

What I can add to our party is basically the eyes of a Black Republican, said Army veteran Wesley Hunt. Because thats just inherently different from a white persons perspective; it just is.

Unlike Green and Gibbs, Hunt doesnt face a competitive race in November. Instead, he faced most of the competition in a crowded GOP primary in Texass 38th, a deep-red majority-white district near Houston.

Nine white guys and me running in our Republican primary, he said.

At one campaign event, a young man approached Hunt and asked if hed speak to his grandfather on the phone. When Hunt agreed, the older man sounded teary.

Wesley, Im 82 years old, Hunt recalled him saying. I used to be a very racist person and bigoted person against Black people. And youre the first Black person Ive ever voted for, because you share my same values. And Im sorry, about maybe the way Ive treated Black people in the past, but not only have you given the world hope, you have given me hope in myself that I can overcome my racism.

That kind of story is what I hear more often than not, Hunt added.

Hunt won his 10-way primary with 55 percent of the vote. If all goes as expected, hell head to Congress next year. He said he does not plan to try to join the Congressional Black Caucus due to the expectation that he would back certain legislation.

Given where the Democrats are right now, I just dont see that as a possibility, he said.

Congressional Republicans, on the other hand, have welcomed him.

When Im on the Hill, I hear every single time, Im really glad youre running. We absolutely need more people of color in our partywe both need it and we want it, because we want to look like America.

Who tells him that?

White men, Hunt said. I dont want to say any names because I dont want to make them feel uncomfortable. But Im glad that they felt comfortable with telling me that. Thats a good thing.

In fact, candidates and operatives credit the shift towards diversity largely to two white men: McCarthy and NRCC Chair Tom Emmer. McCarthy and Emmer have made it a priority to recruit candidates that look like their districts. Theyve relied on House members to help them figure out who would be a good fit, instead of just depending on consultants as some Republicans did in the past.

They do a good job, Gibbs said. Theyre starting with a small pool, so its a little bit tricky. Theres not a whole lot of Black Republicans out there to begin with.

Originally posted here:
National Journal: Republicans count on candidates of color to expand the House map - National Republican Congressional Committee