Losses by Republicans in the last two presidential elections made them realize that the party offers little for minority voters. According to Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul, they are the exact voters the party must appeal to - even though it will be a “daunting task.”
President Barack Obama received more than 9 in 10 votes from African-Americans in both the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, as well as strong support from Latinos. Voicing what many Republicans feel about the party's direction, Paul said in a recent speech at Howard University that Republicans had to find ways to reach out to minority voters.
"Republicans face a daunting task. Several generations of black voters have never voted Republican and are not very open to considering the option," Paul said.
Paul cited the Republican Party’s history as the party of Abraham Lincoln and efforts to rid the South of Jim Crow laws. He claimed that, during the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, many Democrats opposed civil rights in the South.
“Big government is not a friend of African-Americans,” Paul said. He said the appeal of the Democrats is “unlimited federal assistance” and policies putting “food on the table,” but that these policies don’t lead to jobs and “meaningful” success.
Paul is a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2016. During his 2010 Senate campaign, he voiced concern over the portion of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights legislation that forbids racial discrimination by private businesses. Paul told the Howard University audience that he had never opposed the Civil Rights Act.