Diversity in the Iowa GOP

At the recent SCC meeting some members said that they had been hearing in their districts that makeup of our Delegation to the National Convention was too white. I think they said not diverse enough but they meant too white.

In a recent post, I referenced 2000 and 2005 census data that places the total minority population of Iowa at just under 5%. Our national delegation consists of:

15 District Delegates (3 from each congressional district)
22 At-large Delegates
National Committeeman
National Committeewoman
Party Chairman

In total there are 40 delegates plus 15 District and 22 At-large Alternates. I must admit that I do not know all the delegates personally but among the ones that I do know there are at least three minority Delegates. 3 out of 40 is 7.5% one-and-a-half times the percentage of minorities in the population.

I do not know the ethnic makeup of the alternates. Assuming that there are no minorities among the alternates, the delegation would have 3 minorities out of 77 total  members. 3 out of 77 is 3.8% somewhat less than the population of Iowa as a whole.

On the floor of the convention of course, one minority (Indian - from India) delegate was replaced with another (Hispanic). So the activity on the floor did not change the percentages.

Interestingly if you look at the leadership of the Iowa GOP you will see that minorities are quite well represented. The party leadership consists of 15 SCC members, two National Committee members and the Party Chair and Co-Chair. Of these 19,  5 are  minorities (unless you count Norwegians). Two Black, one Indian (from India), one Hispanic and me. I am 1/2 Pacific Islander, 1/4 Black, 1/4 Chinese and my mother had an Hispanic surname (Cruz). 5 minorities out of 19 is over 26% — more than 5 times the percentage of minorities in the population at large.

Someone in the same meeting said, "we haven't done anything for minorities in Iowa." Since we were all getting along so well. I simply muttered under my breath.

... haven't done anything for minorities? Do you mean besides holding the line on taxes, fighting for better schools, fueling economic growth ... ?

I do not know the numbers but I would be willing to bet that the leadership of the Republican Party of Iowa consists of a larger percentage of ethnic minorities than the Democratic Party of Iowa. Anyone know if this is the case?

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[Brent Oleson]

Now all we need to work on is diversity of thought.