By Albert Lin
After Mitt Romney’s dismal showing with Black voters in the last Presidential election, much was made about the Republican Party’s need to reach out to that demographic. Only 6.4 percent of Blacks who voted in 2012 cast their ballots for Romney, prompting the Republican National Party to acknowledge, among other things, that “if we want ethnic minority voters to support Republicans, we have to engage them, and show our sincerity.”
In the 20 months since that November, however, Republicans seem to have stuck with the status quowith one exception. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a possible candidate for the Republican nomination in 2016, has increased his efforts to connect with the Black community, making several appearances before Black audiences and taking what could be considered anti-Republican stances on certain issues, such as working with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenses.
