African American Republicans Reflect on Present, Future of Party
A Republican consultant and a former Republican staffer sit down with Stephen to talk about the issues important to the party.
Stephen is joined by Wayne Bradley, a Republican political consultant and the managing partner of American Urban Strategies, who is the former state director of African American engagement for the Michigan Republican Party and Brandon Brice, a former Republican staffer, operative, and commentator. Brice served as a staffer for former U.S. House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and as director of education affairs under New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
Bradley and Brice both say that the “soccer mom phenomenon” has taken center stage when it comes to primary concerns for the GOP–especially as the demographic could be looking elsewhere in the upcoming election. They also talk with Stephen about the importance of hammering home specific issues if there isn’t a magnetic candidate who can appeal to African American GOP voters.
Bradley says that from a national perspective, it’s been more difficult to recruit African American voters in recent years, which is why there’s been a greater emphasis placed on issues instead of individuals in the party. Brice notes that black voters tend to focus on relevancy and currency, and in his view, the party has failed to do both of those things.
Click on the audio player above to hear the conversation.
