Gerard Randall on Republicans and Black voters in Milwaukee
Republican Party of Wisconsin first vice chair Gerard Randall touts efforts at the party's Black Community Center in Milwaukee to sway African American voters to support former President Donald Trump.
By Zac Schultz | Here & Now
July 17, 2024 • Southeast Region
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Gerard Randall:
This outreach center has been here for the last few election cycles here in the state, and we look forward to advancing our message throughout this area, but especially to African American voters. There is a large Latino community that is just a few blocks away from here as well, and so this gives us a chance to deliver the Republican message to them, and to make sure that we convince as many people as possible that traditionally haven't been a part of the Republican coalition to support Republican candidates.
Steven Potter:
Walking around this neighborhood and speaking to some of the people that live here, when I asked 'em about how often do you see the outreach center open, what do you know about its presence in the community, there was a lot of non-committal responses.
Gerard Randall:
Well, we're gonna have a big splash this election cycle, so get ready.
Steven Potter:
What does a big splash mean?
Gerard Randall:
A big splash means we'll have a lot more speakers, especially surrogates from the Trump campaign that will be coming through. That means a lot of activity coming out of this office. Just this evening, in fact, we have an event here with the Black Conservative Coalition that will be hosting a barbecue here, so this center will be the focal point of a lot of activity that will extend out into the greater neighborhood.
Steven Potter:
Over the years, we heard a lot about shy Trump voters who weren't quite ready to tell everyone around them that they were Trump voters. That's changed. Is there a sense of shy Trump Black voters? People in their own community who maybe aren't ready to say that they are supporting Donald Trump?
Gerard Randall:
I think that'll be noticed in November. Whether they speak out in favor of President Trump during the upcoming season, or whether they are sitting on their hands waiting for the opportunity to vote, and we're hoping that people will vote early, we will then notice the trends based on those that turn out to vote early, because those ballots will already in some manner have been tabulated.
Steven Potter:
A few years ago, Bob Spindell made a comment talking about the African American vote, saying they've made great inroads as far as the Republican Party by seeing turnout for Democrats go down, and he said that was actually the first step in getting them to vote Republican. Do you agree with that?
Gerard Randall:
Well, there was no effort on the part of the Republican Party either nationally, locally, or statewide to depress the African American vote. Voters may have stayed home on their own volition because frankly, the message just wasn't resonating with them. I think that'll be very, very different this time because many of the issues that are being talked about are the issues that hit home with a lot of African American voters as well as other voters around the state.
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