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JUNE 16, 2022

BLACK REPUBLICANS EMERGE – OVERNIGHT:  Another one of the Democratic Party's base groups is getting wobbly.   Look at the number of black Republicans running for office.  From Newsweek: 

A record number of Black Republican candidates are running for congressional office this year. The National Republican Congressional Committee counted 81 African American candidates running under the GOP banner in 72 congressional districts in 2022. This is more than a 50 percent increase over the 2020 election cycle. And if the GOP knows what's good for it, this will be the start of a new era in right-wing politics.

This new development comes after decades during which the GOP struggled to attract minorities into its ranks—both minority voters as well as minority candidates. The Republican Party, which saw its support among Black Americans begin its descent shortly after Reconstruction, stopped making concerted efforts to regain Black support by the 1960s. President Richard Nixon, who had a "Black Cabinet," was the last Republican president to make a concerted push to win over Black voters. Since then, the party got by making milquetoast overtures to the Black community, almost as if they were merely checking a box.

But now, in the post-Trump era, it appears the GOP is beginning to embrace a new strategy, one that includes supporting minority and female candidates to appeal to a broader swath of voters. One of the lessons the party seems to have learned of late is that representation matters. And in a movement that purports to eschew identity politics, it appears that at least some in the leadership understand that one crucial part of winning over Black voters, in particular, is to make sure they see people in the party who look like them.

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) told the Washington Times that having more Black conservatives in the House has helped to inspire more Black voters to give GOP candidates a chance. "They see me. They see Burgess. They saw [Rep. Allen West of Florida]. They saw [Rep. Mia Love of Utah]. They see [Virginia Lt. Gov.] Winsome Sears. They see [North Carolina Lt. Gov.] Mark Robinson," he explained. "And what they say is, 'You know what? Maybe I should step up, too.'"

COMMENT:  Great!  And what is especially great is that a growing number of African-Americans realize that they've been exploited by the Democrats, who've been taking them for granted for decades.  While the GOP hasn't had an African-American on the national ticket, that day may soon come.  There is national talk surrounding Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and the above-mentioned Winsome Sears. 

The Democratic response to black Republicans will undoubtedly be to label them as "illegitimate," or a creation of Donald Trump.  I don't think that will cut it in the modern era.  Once people learn they are permitted to think for themselves, and to vote the way they wish...they'll rather like it.

June 16, 2022     Permalink

JUNE 15, 2022

GOP VICTORY – OVERNIGHT:  Texas Republicans have flipped a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives that had become vacant upon the resignation of the Democratic congressman.  However, the newly elected Republican will only serve out the remainder of the congressman's term.  Another election, for a full two-year term, will be held in November.    From Fox: 

Republican Mayra Flores is projected to win a special election in Texas's 34th Congressional District, flipping a House seat after Rep. Filemon Vela, who held the seat for nearly 10 years, resigned in March and vacated the seat.

Flores, who had 51% of the vote to Democratic candidate Dan Sanchez's 43% when the Associated Press called the race, will become the first Mexican-born congresswoman to serve in the House. Her family moved to the United States when she was six years old.
Flores will finish out the remainder of Vela's term, which expires in January, and Republicans were eager to win the seat and gain new ground in the Lone Star state to represent the district that spans east of San Antonio with parts along the coast to Brownsville. As currently drawn, the 34th Congressional District will essentially be dissolved later this year after a newly redrawn map favoring current 15th Congressional District Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, the Democratic nominee for November's general election to represent the 34th District, was constructed.

Ahead of the election, the two front runners in the race for a short term on Capitol Hill were Sanchez, a former Cameron County commissioner, a Democrat, and healthcare worker Flores, a Republican who outspent Sanchez and gained steam in the race for the seat that has been vacant for more than two months.

Sanchez, a pro-life Democrat who ran in the election, was largely outspent by Flores and did not receive much support on a national level. Earlier this month, it was revealed that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), despite its overwhelming support for abortion, forked out thousands of dollars in an ad partnership with Sanchez.

COMMENT:  Flores will have to fight to hold the seat for Republicans in November, but this victory gives her a major head start.  She'll be running as the incumbent.  If she can hold the seat, it will be a significant blow to traditional Democratic dominance of the area.  Republicans need momentum to keep Texas in the Republican column in the 2024 presidential vote.  Watch the money pour into this congressional district.

June 15, 2022       Permalink