Race has emerged as a central issue — and a delicate one — in the 2024 presidential contest as the GOP’s primary field features six candidates of color, making it the party’s most racially diverse ever.
Former Texas congressman Will Hurd, who was the only Black Republican in the House of Representatives during his final two years in office, launched his candidacy on Thursday.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who is of Cuban descent, entered the race last week, vowing to create a new brand of politics. He joined South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the first Black senator in the South since Reconstruction. Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador, is of Indian descent, as is Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur who describes himself as “a cultural thought leader.” Also in the race is Larry Elder, an African American raised in Los Angeles’ South Central neighborhood who came to national attention as a candidate in the failed effort two years ago to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat.
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