Are Republicans finally ready to embrace a Black presidential candidate?
Former president Donald Trump did better in the 2020 U.S. presidential election among Black voters than in 2016. Wouldn’t it pay Republicans to have more Black spokespersons?
I thought that the GOP might be moving in that direction when South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott gave the Republican response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address in 2021. Scott said everything his party needed him to say. Now he’s running for president, as are Larry Elder, a Black conservative talk radio host, and two others of Indian descent, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy. Scott reminds me of another African American Republican, former Oklahoma U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts. We should recognize a possible benefit of this sudden Republican interest in inclusion: a larger, more diverse talent pool of candidates. Youth and diversity could benefit both political parties.
In 1984, Democrats threw a political Hail Mary by choosing Geraldine Ferraro as Walter Mondale’s vice presidential running mate against Ronald Reagan — and lost badly. Democrats lost with Hillary Clinton (electorally) against Trump in 2016. However, six women ran in the 2020 Democratic primaries, with Kamala Harris emerging as Biden’s running mate.
The point is that Democrats seem more willing to encourage, even risk courting women and/or people of color to their cause. You may recall that Democrats selected a Black nominee who won the presidency — twice.
Incidentally, Watts decided not to run for re-election in 2002. That’s odd. Why didn’t Republicans do more to keep him around? Maybe they’ll do better with Scott. Let’s see which party truly embraces inclusion.
Jim Newton, Itasca