As analysts dissect the primary loss of former Oklahoma Speaker of the House T.W. Shannon for the seat of retiring Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn, I have been asked in recent days whether his candidacy is an anomaly for the GOP. The former speaker, who also happens to be black, narrowly lost his bid to join Tim Scott (R-SC) in the Senate GOP caucus and increase black GOP representation by 100 percent. More bluntly, is the Republican Party serious about recruiting and supporting diverse candidates for federal and state office, or is it merely doing lip service in advance of the 2016 presidential contest to appeal to people of color?
Read more:http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/26/t-w-shannon-is-a-sign-of-things-to-come-in-the-gop.html