RNC vows to focus on overlooked communities

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus vowed in 2014 that his group would spend time in communities it has overlooked in the past.

“As a party, Republicans resolve to make 2014 about engaging with more people in communities all across America,” Priebus said in a statement ringing in the New Year. “We’ll spend our time welcoming new people to our party and listening to people in places where we haven’t spent enough time in years past. I look forward to all this year has to offer.”

{mosads}The RNC released a report early last year called the Growth and Opportunity Project, urging the party to be more inclusive after the dismal electoral results among minorities during the 2012 presidential election.

President Obama swept black voters with 93 percent of the vote and won 71 percent of the Hispanic vote.

Priebus had vowed to begin small community-based outreach and communicate a broader message to voters across the country.

The committee has made some steps in that direction. It has hired a series of Hispanic field directors around the country. And the committee touted New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) win of a majority of Hispanic voters as a step in the right direction.

Others in the party have expressed concern that the GOP has failed to meet the goals outlined last year and some elected officials have not done enough to broaden the message.