Steele Fails to Lure Minorities To GOP

Controversy hampers RNC leader's efforts
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 15, 2010 3:39 AM CDT
Steele Fails to Lure Minorities To GOP
Rev. Al Sharpton, right, introduces Michael Steele, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, at the National Action Network Convention in New York yesterday.   (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

African-American voters haven't budged an inch in the GOP's direction despite Michael Steele's pledge to win over minority voters, a Washington Post analysis finds. Some 78% of black voters have an unfavorable view of the party, a figure unchanged since Steele became the party's first-ever African-American chairman. Analysts say the embattled Steele's message has been obscured by controversies.

Nobody expected Steele to change the face of the GOP overnight, but his promised public relations offensive to bring the GOP to "urban-suburban hip-hop settings" has failed to materialize, the Post notes. His efforts to woo black voters have been largely restricted to a few high-profile speeches, including one to Al Sharpton's National Action Conference yesterday.
(More Michael Steele stories.)

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