If Republicans ever needed a wakeup call on their diversity problem, then they surely would have gotten the message after 2018, right? Right? Well, it seems like many Republicans have not gotten the message that the candidates that are being elected are not enticing minority or women voters. Republicans only have 13 women, one African American, and six Hispanics in the House out of 200 members. For a country that is less than thirty-five percent are white men, having a House of Representatives caucus that is ninety percent white and male is a problem and is off putting to many minority voters. This new series is to highlight the many women and minority candidates that are running for the House of Representatives or the Senate in order to diversify the caucus.
Where Does the Main Issue Lie?
The GOP caucus is trending in the opposite direction demographically than the country as a whole. In 2018, the GOP lost multiple Hispanics in their caucus and were only able to add one additional member (Anthony Gonzales from Ohio). It also went from two members to only one member from the African American community (with the loss of Mia Love), and with the retirement of Will Hurd in 2020 the GOP caucus could be reduced to having no African Americans in their caucus. The more dire problem with the GOP caucus is with women::the GOP lost eleven female members in the house and was only able to add one member (Carol Miller from West Virginia) to their caucus. The GOP is having a large problem with attracting people to run under their banner in federal races.
How can I Help in Electing a More Diverse Caucus?
Research into the different house races that have women or minority candidates. An easy way to do this will be going to Wikipedia and scrolling through the races or by researching on Google who these candidates are. Donating to these candidates is also important because they usually do not have a lot of finances to begin with. Another way is to get friends or colleagues involved in getting these candidates through the primary through voting or canvassing for these candidates. Check in with this website where I will be writing about these candidates as we get closer to their primaries or go follow @DiversifyParty and subscribe to the Twitter List by @SpookyCentrist called “Diverse Republicans” (both accounts on Twitter). Many of the candidates that are running in these races will be highlighted through both methods in the hopes that they get through the primary and get elected in November.
How Do I to Help Diversify in the GOP Long-term?
Republicans have a disproportionate number of white men in their caucus because they are in safe states. Most of the candidates of color and women are in swing districts, which makes it harder to retain them over the long term. Most of the decline in women and minorities in the GOP caucus who left the House of Representatives in 2018 was caused by them losing reelection in swing seats. Republicans need to find a way to get minorities and women elected in safer seats, therefore this series will be more focus on Safe Republican seats over swing seats. While electing more minorities in general is important, Republicans need to be more focused on retaining these members during wave elections or seats trending in either direction.
Republicans are beginning to see the issue with their increasingly unrepresentative caucus, but they need to actually do something about it. There are many talented Republicans that are running for the House of Representatives that are getting looked over for no real reason. These candidates should get the attention that they deserve, and the best way to start is by voting for these candidates in the primaries that are coming up this election. There are many candidates who are getting little attention who are better representatives of their communities, so let’s do something about it.