Republican congressional nominee Mia Love brought the house down when she gave a dynamic speech Tuesday night. She is busting stereotypes within the party. She is black, she's a Mormon who lives in Utah, and if she wins she will be the first black Republican woman ever to serve in Congress. She is one of several speakers appearing at the RNC changing the face and the reputation of the party.
It is widely known that the Republican Party is weak among minorities. But if you look around the convention floor in Tampa, you will see they are there: Hispanic, black, Asian. Minorities, although in smaller numbers, are finding reason to be Republican.
"It's an individual choice," said California delegate Acquanetta Warren. "And I made that choice when I was in my 30s, and I'm 56 today. And I decided that I didn't want to be part of the just regular thing. I wanted to have African Americans diverse. I believe all our eggs have been in one basket for too long, and that's why we get short-changed every time."
"I think the Republican Party is made for minorities," said California delegate Mario Guerra. "I think especially Latinos. We Latinos, our values correspond better with the Republican Party than anybody else. We're for lower taxes, we're for pro-life family issues; we're quality of life issues; less government. I think it's perfect tie-in between the Latinos and the Republican Party."
"I'm a thinker and I look at what has gone on in this past three, almost four years," said California delegate Emily Samford.
"Especially Asian Americans, first generation, they are thinking about family comes first, education, and they're almost about in California itself 500,000 businesses, so they want to have less taxes and less regulations. So that's exactly the same as Republican thoughts," said California delegate Michelle Eunjoo Park Steel.
Steel is on the California Board of Equalization. She's the highest ranking Korean-American Republican in the country. She said even though the Asian population in America is not as large as the Hispanic and the black populations, she says what's interesting about the Asian population is that they flip-flop a lot. And if one of the candidates can appeal to that population and they all go to him, that could give them a lot of power and it could swing the entire presidential vote.
Look for ongoing reports from David Ono at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla. Eyewitness News will also be at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., in September.
