MADISON, Wis. - Republicans gathering in Wisconsin for their annual state convention Saturday will hear from two potential candidates for president in 2016, as well as calls for the GOP to broaden its base and attract more minorities.
The need to make the party more inclusive will be the focus of the keynote address by Reince Priebus, the Republican National Committee chairman and former head of the Wisconsin party. The future of the party is likely also to be touched on by other speakers, which include Gov. Scott Walker and Rep. Paul Ryan.
The "Growth and Opportunity Project" report Priebus released in March called for attracting minority voters, supporting immigration reform and embracing "welcoming and inclusive" attitudes on gay rights.
The report was met with a mixed response from many party players who said the real problem is that the GOP's message isn't being delivered properly. Priebus, in an interview before the convention, said he doesn't see why the report's recommendations would cause concern.
"I can't imagine there to be controversy over the idea we need to be a huge party that goes to every single community in America and tries to appeal to 100 percent of the electorate," Priebus said.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, who is scheduled to speak before Priebus on Saturday, said he doesn't buy into the thinking that the party needs to reinvent itself. He pointed to 2012 Republican electoral wins in the state Legislature — Republicans have an 18-15 majority in the Senate and a 60-39 edge in the Assembly — as evidence that they know how to attract votes.
"We feel like we still have a strong message," Fitzgerald said. "We don't want to alienate the base. You need that 36 percent at the polls to come out."
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who is also slated to speak at the convention near Wausau, said Republicans need to do a better job describing the core values of their party — which is that government should play a lesser role in people's lives.
"In our messaging we've made it seem like we're angry all the time because we're not winning the war of persuasion," Vos said.
While Republicans did win majorities in the Legislature last year, and kept Walker in office by defeating the recall election, they also suffered two major losses. Democrat Tammy Baldwin beat former Gov. Tommy Thompson to become the first woman senator from Wisconsin and President Barack Obama carried the state, extending a GOP presidential losing streak to 24 years.
The presidential loss was even more glaring given that the Republican vice presidential nominee was Wisconsin native Ryan. Both Ryan and Walker are possible 2016 presidential candidates, but they have said it's too early to make a decision on running.
Republicans have lost the popular vote in five out of the last six presidential elections. They haven't won a presidential election in Wisconsin since 1988. In the last two elections, Obama won overwhelming majorities of non-white voters and younger voters, while the anchors of Republican support — older white voters — have become an increasingly smaller share of the electorate.
Ryan said in an interview Tuesday that the party needs to broaden its appeal and "explain how relevant our nation's founding principles are to our time and day and how they apply equally to everyone around the country."
Republicans also need to do a better job showing nontraditional GOP voters that they are the party of opportunity, growth and upward mobility, he said.
The Rev. Joe Medina, of Waukesha, is leading an effort to attract Hispanic voters to the Wisconsin Republican Party. Medina, who is Hispanic, is chairman of a newly created Wisconsin Assembly of Conservative Hispanics.
He said the state party is making a concerted effort to be more connected with grass roots activists and organizers year round, not just during election season. Medina said he embraces the RNC report calling for the party to be more inclusive.
"It's the truth. But all parties have to reach out to minority groups. It's the American way now," he said. "There's just so many minority groups that are out there we all now realize and they're all very important. The Republican Party is no exception."
Democrats are scoffing at the GOP's attempts to be more inclusive. Democratic Party executive director Maggie Brickerman called the Priebus report nothing more than "window dressing."
"The only real outreach we've seen Scott Walker do to new groups is to out-of-state contributors," she said in a statement.
And Scot Ross, director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, said Walker and the Republican-controlled Legislature have focused on an agenda that benefits the rich and hurts the middle class.
"It's pretty clear either Wisconsin Republicans didn't get the Reince Priebus memo — or the memo was just a wink and a nod in the first place," Ross said.
