The GOP's 2016 slate may be its most diverse ever, but don't expect the candidates to talk much about it.
These Republican lawmakers, along with African-American conservative favorite Ben Carson, look poised to make the 2016 GOP presidential field the party's most diverse ever. They are all mulling over White House runs as the GOP continues to struggle with minority voters and as racial tensions over police conduct have captivated the nation.
But none is planning to play up his race or ethnicity in a presidential campaign, or even to stress the potentially historic nature of his candidacy. Instead, according to interviews with donors, strategists, aides and several of the possible candidates themselves, each is more likely to hit broader themes such as the American dream and the importance of hard work, which, for Jindal, Cruz and Rubio, would include nods to their parents' immigrant experience.
Such messages would, in theory, have more universal appeal by stressing the commonalities of the American experience instead of its divisions — while also avoiding the identity politics that are toxic among GOP primary voters. It's a tactic that may be welcomed as an expression of unity by some minorities, but it is already seen by others, especially advocates for immigrants, as dismissive of unique hardships facing their communities.
Cruz's success in deep-red Texas in 2012, however, came as the GOP was trounced among minority voters; presidential nominee Mitt Romney captured just 27 percent of the Hispanic vote, which was still significantly higher than what he earned among blacks, whose robust turnout levels helped reelect Barack Obama, the first African-American president.
Republican leaders say they have invested significantly in reaching out to minorities, but the party continues to struggle among those groups, and GOP lawmakers' overall resistance to comprehensive immigration reform has frustrated Hispanics in particular. So the fact that the party's emerging 2016 field could be so diverse is striking.
"It's a fascinating twist given the rap on the GOP, that it's just a party of white men," said Whit Ayres, who consults for Rubio.
Like Cruz, his colleague in the Senate, Rubio is the child of Cuban immigrants; Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, was born to Hindus who immigrated from India; Carson grew up in inner-city Detroit and ultimately became a famed pediatric neurosurgeon.
Rubio is perhaps the most open about his heritage. The Florida senator grew up in Miami and Las Vegas, appears on Spanish-language media and often discusses his parents' experiences as immigrants.
He led the charge to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the Democratic-controlled Senate, though he later backed off the proposal, which got nowhere in the GOP-controlled House and raised fury among the conservative base. This past week, Rubio emerged as the leading GOP opponent of the White House's decision to normalize relations with Cuba — a highly charged issue among Cuban exiles in Florida.
Cruz also uses the framework of the American dream when he discusses his father's rise from penury to success in his adopted country — a concept Cruz suggested will inform his overall message to voters should he run in 2016.
But Cruz's hard-line stance against immigration reform disqualifies him among many Hispanics.
The Texas senator, a favorite of social conservatives and the tea party, however, sees no conflict between appealing to minorities and his secure-the-border first position, casting the latter as a matter of the rule of law. Cruz says that, according to his internal numbers, he outperformed Romney among Hispanics in Texas in 2012.
If Jindal decides to run, he, too, will most likely offer a pitch centered on restoring the American dream — bolstered with stories about his parents' immigrant experience — but he won't specifically highlight his Indian background, said Timmy Teepell, partner at OnMessage Inc. and former chief of staff to the governor.
Compared to Jindal, Cruz, Rubio and most others in the emerging 2016 GOP field, Carson's chances of gaining the nomination are virtually nill. Still, if he runs, he also isn't expected to talk about much about race, although he may emphasize his story of working his way out of poverty and into medicine, where he earned plaudits for his expertise in separating conjoined twins.
The Democrats have recent experience with "historic" candidacies: The 2008 Democratic primary saw both a woman, Hillary Clinton, and an African-American, Obama, win major swaths of the party vote. The Clinton-Obama dynamic generated major excitement with the base, party leaders said.
Still, both Obama and Clinton walked a careful line on the identity issue, possibly to avoid alienating men and white voters.
This time around, it appears more Republicans will have to navigate the identity politics — and not just among the crucial conservative primary voters who may view emphasis on race and ethnicity as something reserved for Democrats.
For instance, the Indian-American community is emerging as one of the wealthiest ethnic groups in the country and one that's increasingly active in politics.
Jindal could benefit from their financial backing, but the governor has been criticized by some politically active Indian-Americans for distancing himself from the community too much and not supporting them on issues such as immigration reform.