Obama won over 90 percent of the African-American vote, 73 percent of the Asian vote, and 71 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2012.
Glenn McCall said that young voters are increasingly “put off” by the GOP. “We don’t have to agree on every issue, but we have to make sure young people don’t see the party as intolerant and unaccepting,” she said.
The report recommends that Republicans establish offices in minority communities, recruit staff and candidates from minority groups, and appoint communications directors in key states who will coordinate engagement with minority organizations.
For young people—particularly those under 30, the majority of whom voted for Obama—the report looks at a variety of ways to engage, including the formation of a Celebrity Task Force and regular appearances by Republican leaders on popular shows like “The Colbert Report,” “The Daily Show,” and “MTV.”
“Finding common ground with voters is our top priority,” Priebus said.
Unity a Challenge
Finding common ground within the party, however, may be the greater challenge.
Whether purposely timed or not, the report was launched just as the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) was winding down.
CPAC draws on a particular conservative constituency within the Republican Party, and this year seemed only to highlight divisions.
Govs. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) and Bob McDonnell (R-Va.), the two most popular GOP governors, were not included in the lineup of speakers—Christie was singled out for showing gratitude to Obama for his help after Hurricane Sandy.
The report specifically highlights the need to learn from successes at the state level, as 30 states are presently managed by Republican governors.
“Conservative ideas are resonating in many of these [heartland] states,” said Fleischer.
Conservative stalwarts also expressed cynicism toward other factions: Sarah Palin drew applause at the CPAC for a jab at Republican strategist Karl Rove, with a call to “furlough the consultants” and send “the architect back to Texas.”
Mitt Romney, although well received at the conference in his first public speech since his presidential loss, was the recipient of a swipe from Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas). Perry blamed the 2008 and 2012 election losses on the Republican leadership’s selecting Romney and the earlier Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) because they were not conservative enough.
Undaunted Priebus said that the party welcomes all groups, saying, “There is more that unites us than you know.”
Obviously energized by the report and its catch cry “onward to victory,” Priebus said the party was already preparing for the 2014 congressional and the 2016 presidential elections. Donors were on board with the report’s recommendations and staff would be in place by the end of the summer.
“We have never put this many paid workers on the ground this early in an off year,” he said.
Explaining the inspiration behind the report, Priebus said, “We want to build our party and we want to do it with bold strokes. We want to show we are up to the challenge.”
