Black Republicans

In June, a Charleston businessman named Tim Scott won the Republican nomination for South Carolina’s First Congressional District, defeating Paul Thurmond, the son of state political legend Strom Thurmond, with nearly 70 percent of the primary vote.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Black members of the tea party movement on Wednesday rejected charges of racism by the group’s activists, saying they oppose President Barack Obama because of his policies not his skin color.

After the NAACP passed a resolution declaring the Tea Party to be a “racist” organization, Tea Party-backed Florida Congressional candidate Allen West held a town hall meeting in Fort Lauderdale to address the concerns of voters. He also wrote blog posts defending the Tea Party, while at the same time attacking the NAACP.

From the NY Times: Among the many reverberations of President Obama’s election, here is one he probably never anticipated: at least 32 African-Americans are running for Congress this year as Republicans, the biggest surge since Reconstruction, according to party officials.