But the GOP still has its work cut out in 2016. More people vote in presidential elections. Republicans haven’t won the Catholic vote in a presidential election since 2004.
How can the GOP win the Catholic vote in 2016 — and thus the White House? When looking over all the possible 2016 candidates, Republican primary voters must ask themselves: Which candidate can win blue collar white voters in Toledo and do well with Hispanic Catholic voters in Denver?
By Toledo, I mean Lucas County and Wood County to its south. These two counties in Northwest Ohio are swing districts in the swing state of Ohio. Hard to fathom any Republican getting 270 electoral votes without Ohio. To win Ohio, Republicans have to do well or win this area. And let’s be honest, Mitt Romney’s comments on the “47%.” cost him dearly in this area.
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By the way, one major demographic shift in 2014 is the Asian vote. Republicans won a majority of the Asian vote for the first time since 1988. This isn’t a large demographic group, but they can make the difference in some areas, like Virginia. To put this in perspective: Obama won the Asian vote by 47 points! Special credit for this goes to Republican candidates in Virginia like Ed Gillespie and Barbara Comstock, and to Greg Abbott in Texas.