Crenshaw said the Republican party, which currently has only one black person in the House and one black person in the Senate, needs new messengers to reach non-white voters and to expand the party's electorate.
“I hate engaging in identity politics. I hate saying, you know, 'We need more of these people because of this immutable characteristic.' But at the same time, you know, people need different messengers for the same message, OK? People do want to hear that message from somebody who they can relate with,” Crenshaw said.
The Houston representative said that the conversation around attracting voters should concern Democrats as well, who shouldn’t take support from non-white communities for granted.
“I just don't take it as a given that because you're non-white that we should worry about you voting Democrat. And I think Democrats do take that for granted. You know, that's where that conversation comes from, this idea that your immutable characteristic should drive how you think, which is — I think there's a word for that. I think it's called 'racism,'” he said.
