Republican leaders universally acknowledge they need to be more inclusive of blacks and Hispanics or risk losing their formidable grip on state politics. But they have struggled to build support as they pushed new immigration restrictions and voting requirements unpopular with minority groups.
Gov. Nathan Deal, the party’s most powerful leader, is embracing a new strategy. After chiding members of his party to roll out the welcome mat to newcomers – “shame on us,” if not, he said – he wants his party’s message to minorities to pivot toward some of his hallmark legislative initiatives.
He argues that his criminal justice overhaul should appeal to minority voters by keeping more low-level offenders out of prisons, which lock up a disproportionate number of blacks. And he said his party’s backing of the charter school amendment should also resonate with minorities, who gave it heavy support in major majority-black counties.
Beneath it all is the hope that the GOP could begin winning over reluctant minorities who see their economic bottom line as the biggest concern, if Republicans can stake a claim as the party of job creation.
“We have to use our power to show we’re fair and impartial,” Deal told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview. “A lot of voting patterns are dictated by perceptions of parties at the federal level. But the Republican Party at the state level can begin to set an example.”
It could take more than that, though, to convince minorities who have rewarded Democrats with near monolithic support. Hispanics haven’t forgotten about the immigration crackdown that Deal signed in 2011. And many black voters were outraged by the GOP’s celebratory response last week to a ruling that undoes part of a voting law dating to the civil rights era.
“I can’t think of any reason I’d vote for a Republican,” said Miya Smith, a business analyst in Atlanta who is black and consistently votes for Democrats. “I’d need to see a lot of effort before I’d be persuaded to looking more at the Republican Party. It’s a tough sell.”
Keeping their mostly white base of supporters appeased is also a challenge, and the tea party’s transformation from a group that waged war on taxes to one fighting all hints of government intrusion further complicates matters. Some party stalwarts are concerned that not enough is being made to reach the undecided.
“The silent voters are looking for something,” said Jim Camp, a Republican State Committee member from Coweta County. “And the Republican Party is failing to deliver their wants.”
via Deal: State GOP can prove its message matters to minorities | www.myajc.com.
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