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It wasnt a particularly surprising response given the partys noteworthy abandonment of policy ambitions. A month earlier,McConnellhad told donors more or less the same thing, insisting that telling voters what Republicans would do if elected was a massive strategic blunder: The best thing to do, he argued, was just to hammer Democrats.

This was, at the time and for much of 2022, a sound strategy. The Democrats were, as is their wont, very much in disarray: Joe Bidens legislative agenda had stalled out, leaving the party with an anemic list of accomplishments on which to campaign. Inflation was bad and getting worse, with no end in sight; many were predicting an imminent recession. A new Covid variant, moreover, had just emerged, causing chaos, hospitalizations, and death across the countryand preventing the Biden administration from saying that it had fulfilled its core 2020 campaign promise, that it would end the pandemic and return the country to normalcy. For the first half of the year, Republicans battered their rivals on all these fronts. And they also used a kind of sleight of hand, obscuring the fact that they had no real solutions to any of these problems, nor any intention to gin any up.

That the Commitment to America exists is evidence that the GOP believes this approach has either failed or is no longer applicable. Indeed, much has changed: After the Dobbs ruling unleashed a litany of unpopular outcomeskicking off a summer in which new revelations about the extent of Donald Trumps efforts to illegally overturn the 2020 election seem to hit the front pages on a weekly basisDemocrats rallied with some unexpected legislative accomplishments. The GOP suddenly found itself steadily losing ground, both in the so-called generic ballotwhich tracks which party voters would prefer to have control of Congressand in several key swing-state races.

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Kevin McCarthy's Desperate Bid to Prove the Republican Party Has Ideas - The New Republic

Frank Keating| Guest columnist

I had the honor of being the only governor in Oklahoma history to have served in both houses of the Legislature. Moreover, as a rare breed Republican, I was only third in line behind my luminary predecessors, Henry Bellmon and Dewey Bartlett. Statehood in 1907 was long past. The Party of Lincoln was a relic to most Okies. Few knew much about them. Republicans were curiosities, searched for on Saturday nights by probing headlights of the inquisitive.My one House term saw 25 Republicans serving alongside 76 Democrats. The Senate was worse. My brief service there saw me as Republican leader. There were seven of us out of 48 members. Pretty slim numbers.

Once on the Senate floor, I presented a bill that would drop the long-time legislative requirement that before a person could be institutionalized for drug or alcohol abuse, he had to commit a crime. Like beating a wife or child. My bill would simply require a medical jury to decide to send someone for treatment who was a threat to himself or others. Before I could explain the bill, a powerful Senate Democratic leader rose and asked if I would yield? I agreed and he promptly asked his colleagues for unanimous consent to remove me as the author of the bill because it was too important a bill to be handled by a Republican. Fortunately, the bill passed.

When I was elected governor, I proposed that the Democratic heads of the Senate and House have breakfast with me once a week. They agreed. I pressed on and proposed that the Senate and House Republican leaders join us at the same time. They balked. Why would we do that? one inquired. They have nothing to contribute. I pressed and won the issue. For years, both party leaders and I met, socialized and debated. Knowing and respecting your adversary is a good way to move forward. We are all in government together. If the USS Oklahoma sinks, we all go down together. The last people left laughing will be the Texans.

In eight years with me as governor and Democrats in charge of the Legislature, we put Right to Work in the Constitution; finished the turnpikes on the to-do list and four-laned hundreds of miles of state highways; legalized charter schools and public school choice; passed tort reform; cut taxes and put the dome on the Capitol with private money.

Democrats and Republicans worked together. For Oklahoma. For progress. Because we knew one another and respected one another. We created a DO culture. What we needed was DONE, by both parties, hand in hand.

Frank Keating was formerly the governor of Oklahoma from 1995-2003.

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Keating: When I was governor, Republicans and Democrats worked together - Oklahoman.com

The close relationship between the Republican Party and the corporate world has shaped American capitalism for decades. Businesses are used to disdain from Democrats, but vitriol from the right is newer. This has been on display in public brawls between lawmakers and companies, and shifting orthodoxies in the Republicans economic philosophy. What will be the impact of the partys growing suspicion of America Inc?

West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore tells us why hes targeting firms that wont invest in fossil fuels. We go back to a high point in the partys love-in with big business. And political adviser Oren Cass explains the theory behind the Republicans new approach.

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Alexandra Suich Bass.

Runtime: 42 min

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Why is the Republican Party falling out of love with big business? - The Economist

As just a citizen, my voice was not being heard, right? Talking to neighbors, talking to family and friends, you felt like things that you were passionate about were maybe falling on deaf ears, he said.

So he entered the race for House District 28 in Jefferson County, as a Republican.

In recent years, Colorados legislature has become increasingly diverse; the most recent session included numerous Latino and Black members, as well as Colorados first transgender lawmaker, first lawmaker to use a wheelchair and first Muslim lawmaker. Nearly all of them are Democrats. But this year a diverse slate of Republican candidates hope to change that.

The state party under chair Kristi Burton Brown has made a concerted effort to identify and encourage new types of candidates, like Montoya, to run for the statehouse.

Burton Brown, the first woman to head the Colorado GOP, said the diversity of this years candidates is a point of pride, one that kind of pushes back on the narrative that all Republicans run is old white men.

In addition to fielding candidates from different backgrounds, many are also on the younger side. Burton Brown, who is 34, said she believes that will appeal to voters looking for new ideas and new approaches.

Republican State representative Colin Larson, who is white and also in his early thirties, helped spearhead the effort to recruit candidates for this years races. He said he spent a lot of time talking to people in different communities to find out who the real local movers and shakers are. The goal, as he put it, was to avoid automatically picking the person who always shows up to the Republican mens breakfast.

We really just put an emphasis on reaching Republicans that weren't necessarily the party insiders, but were really more in tune with what was going on in the community, said Larson.

In addition to recruiting more diverse candidates for statehouse races, Republicans have the only statewide candidate of color this year on the ballot Danny Moore, who is Black. He was gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahls pickfor running mate.

At 26 years old, Jaylen Mosqueira could be the youngest member of the state legislature if he wins his House District 38 race in Denvers southern suburbs. Its one of Colorados most competitive House races this year.

Mosqueira has always been a Republican and worked as a legislative aide at the capitol. He said when he showed interest in running, the infrastructure and support were there for him to make a bid for the legislature.

I don't think it's necessarily that we are all of a sudden finding new minority voices here in Colorado to run, he said. I think they've been here and the Republican Party has made sure that we are getting those candidates and telling them it is time to step up and represent our communities and our values, our morals, the way that we know we can.

How many of this years diverse GOP candidates make it to the statehouse remains to be seen. Some are running in safely blue seats; Johnnie Johnson, who is Black and blind, is in House District 5, a downtown Denver seat where Democrats hold a 64-point advantage.

Other races wouldnt change the overall makeup at the capitol. Mosqueira is challenging incumbent Democratic Rep. David Ortiz, who is also Latino and has made accessibility a priority as the first lawmaker to use a wheelchair.

In Colorado Springs, Republican Rachel Stovall and Democrat Regina English who are both Black are competing for an open seat that leans Democratic.

I think its historic, said Stovall of her race. We have the possibility of minorities coming into these things from as many political perspectives as we have, that its not required to think the same way.

Colorado GOP Vice Chair Priscilla Rahn, who is Black and Korean American, notes that Republicans have some catching up to do when it comes to making their case to nonwhite voters.

Democrats have done a great job in recruiting and messaging, she said. We've acknowledged that as a Republican Party.

Rahn says historically Republicans have concentrated on issues, not demographics.

It hasn't been a focus. But because of that, there are communities who feel like we don't care.

However, the party nationally is taking steps to try to counter that image. Rahn points to the network of community centers the Republican National Committee is opening to reach voters of color as one of the many ways GOP candidates can hear the issues specific to people from different backgrounds.

Republicans new outreach efforts come at a time when the party is more marginalized in Colorado than it has been in decades.

Democrats have controlled both chambers of Colorados legislature for the past four years. They also hold all of the major statewide offices and both U.S. Senate seats.

To try to reverse that blue tide, Republicans this year are trying to focus much of their election messaging on the cost of living, crime and education issues voters have identified as major concerns while generally avoiding more polarizing topics like abortion and election conspiracy theories.

It's good to see that they're recognizing what we've known as Democrats for quite a long time, that representation absolutely does matter, said Lisa Calderon, the head of Emerge, a Democratic training program for female candidates that has had a lot of success and includes alumni at the statehouse.

But Calderon says both political parties need to do a better job of treating people of color as a serious voting bloc; shed like to see them interacting and engaging with these communities continuously.

Being an Afro Latina myself, were much more complex than I think either party gives us credit for, she said.

Democrat Junie Joseph, a first time House candidate in Boulder County, views the Colorado GOPs focus on broadening its pool of candidates as an act of necessity for the party to stay relevant. Joseph was born in Haiti and moved to the U.S when she was 14. She currently serves on the Boulder city council.

We have one of the most diverse countries, when youre thinking of developed nations, in the world. I highly doubt any institution will survive without diversifying itself, especially in the United States. She added that this is the countrys greatest strength and beauty.

I can understand why the Republican party wants to tap into that strength. But the thing is, it's about love of people. And I don't see that coming from the party yet, the love of people, the love of neighbor, bringing people in, they're not there yet.

For some of this years GOP candidates, though, the party offers exactly the respect they think Democrats have failed to deliver.

Just two years ago, Stephen Varela was helping to organize Democratic voter outreach to Pueblos Latino community ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

But hes since soured on the Democratic Party, feeling like it has moved too far to the left and hasnt done anything to really protect union jobs. And he said it felt like he was just viewed as the Hispanic guy in Pueblo who only got a call when the party wanted something. Varela has changed party affiliations numerous times in the past decade, the Pueblo Chieftain has reported.

People are tired of being polarized or tagged into one area, said Varela, being told that you're Hispanic or you're African American or you're Asian, so you have to be a Democrat. I don't believe that.

This year, Varela is a newly minted Republican running for state Senate in a hotly contested seat that could help determine which party controls that chamber.

For the first time I'm at the table, not because I was a union president or because I'm checking a box that I'm Hispanic, or because I'm a young Hispanic. It's more because, Hey, you have a lot to offer, he said.

The Republican Party holds a similar appeal for business consultant and attorney Tom Kim, a state Senate candidate in Arapahoe County. If Kim wins, he could be the legislatures only Asian American member, but he believes the focus of elections should be on issues, not the color of someones skin.

I'm not really a big proponent of identifying people by anything other than who they are as a person, he said.

Kims grandparents immigrated to the U.S from what is now North Korea and built a restaurant business. His father served in World War II and the Korean war. Kim is a long-time Republican; he registered in college and voted twice for President Ronald Reagan.

We were very much raised with this idea that America's the greatest country in the world and here are the values that make it so great, said Kim. It was never about our ancestry as being Korean. And I know there's lots of statistics about who's identifying with the Republican Party, but, I'm just thrilled to see all of the different perspectives that have come around the table.

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A diverse slate of Republican candidates hopes to reach the Colorado Capitol and prove the party is more than 'old white men' - Colorado Public Radio

Michigan State Universitys Board of Trustees removed a resolution from the agenda of its Friday morning meeting that would have called on companies doing business with the university to oppose the Republican-led Secure MI Vote ballot initiative.

It is understood that companies make political contributions for their own business reasons, including entities that are recipients of contracts with Michigan State University, the resolution read, in part. However, at times these contributions go to elected officials who supported voter suppression bills in 2021 and are poised to pass the Secure MI Vote initiative after the petition is certified. Therefore, these corporations are supporting voter suppression efforts, even if unintentionally.

It went on to call on the universitys politically active vendors take concrete steps to defeat the efforts to undermine our democracy.

Secure MI Vote would amend the state constitution to require a photo ID for in-person voting, eliminating the option for those without a photo ID to sign an affidavit confirming their identity. It would also require a photo ID or partial Social Security number for absentee ballot applications and bar officials from giving an absentee ballot to anyone who did not request one.

Republican Trustee Melanie Foster said the Board resolution, which was on the agenda prior to the meeting Friday morning, wasnt taken up because the Boards three Republican members didnt support it.

Board Chair Dianne Byrum, a Democrat, said in a statement that the resolution was pulled because we didnt want this to become a partisan issue.

Removing the resolution today does not take away for even a second our passion and support for equal access to the ballot by all citizens, particularly our students, and Black, Brown and working-class individuals and families, she said.

Democrats have a 5-3 majority on the Board.

Several other trustees did not respond to interview requests but brought up the issue in their remarks at the close of the meeting.

Trustee Brianna Scott said it was distressing to me that we werent able to move forward.

She made reference to a column by Nolan Finley of the Detroit News, in which he quoted Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, a Clarklake Republican, saying the resolution will cause us to immediately reevaluate the legitimacy of this university and its Board of Trustees and adding that, this is why public universities should be defunded.

Scott, a Democrat, said it was very discouraging to me that people believe its okay to withhold funding for a university based on their political views maybe being threatened and cant see outside of their own political beliefs for the greater good of a university.

I think that it is right for us to discourage people from purposefully doing anything to impede the ability of Black and brown voters to vote, she added, which is their constitutional right.

Editors note: An earlier version of this story misattributed a statement by MSU Trustee Melanie Foster.

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MSU drops resolution asking vendors to oppose Republican-led Secure MI Vote ballot initiative - MLive.com