While the media love to dismiss Republicans and conservatives as much less "diverse" than their Democratic and liberal counterparts, the midterm elections held a few weeks ago have brought to 10 the number of black or Hispanic Republicans who will either be governor, senator, or a House member representing a majority-white district, National Journal's Josh Kraushaar noted in a November 28 Hotline On Call blog post.
What's more, while "the clear majority of minorities in Congress are Democrats... the numbers above reflect an inconvenient reality that, even with their much more diverse caucus, Democrats face similar challenges as Republicans in recruiting, nominating and electing minority candidates to statewide office and in suburban and rural districts that are majority-white."
"The vast majority of Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus members hail from urban districts where it doesn't require a crossover vote to win, or represent gerrymandered seats designed to elect a minority member of Congress. They are markedly more liberal than the average Democrat, no less the average voter, making it more difficult for them to successfully mount a statewide campaign," Kraushaar added [emphasis mine], noting that "the flip side for Republicans is that any time a non-white candidate wins a statewide election, their names immediately vault into contention for national office or leadership."
