RNC Hires Juan Williams's Son for GOP Outreach to Youth, Black Voters

The Republican National Committee has hired the son of Fox News commentator Juan Williams to coordinate the party’s efforts to reach out to young and black voters.

Raffi Williams, the 24 year-old son of the liberal Fox commentator, will be the RNC’s deputy press secretary and will be tasked with helping the GOP make inroads in these communities. 

He told BuzzFeed that even though it is not realistic to expect Republicans to “get a ridiculous amount of African Americans in the next election,” the party can “can start to make inroads, and the more inclusive we are as a party the better optics we get to other demographics as well — not just African Americans — and that helps us in the long run.”

Williams was a Communications Director for the Republican Study Committee and worked for Rep. Dan Benishek’s (R-MI) reelection campaign. 

After losing every minority group badly during the last election cycle in a country that is getting more diverse, the RNC conducted an “autopsy” report that identified the problems the GOP has had with minority voters. Williams said RNC Chair Reince Priebus is enthusiastic about his efforts and it seems like he will be given the resources to succeed. 

“So it’s about making those new connections and getting the support I need. People are really enthused about it,” Williams said. “And that’s a nice thing for me. I didn’t know what I was walking into exactly but from the Chairman on down everyone is so on board with this.”

Republicans may be able to win over black voters after Obama leaves office because many blacks tend to be conservative on issues like immigration and gay marriage. 

For instance, George W. Bush won 16% of the black vote in Ohio in 2004, largely because many culturally conservative black voters went to the polls to vote against gay marriage. In 2008, Obama won 97% of the black vote in Ohio. And in 2012, Obama received 96% of the black vote in Ohio, but blacks made up an astounding 15% of Ohio’s electorate on election day, which made the difference for Obama in the state.