Minority Hopefuls Add Color To Monochrome GOP

Republicans are poised to add a splash of color to the ranks of its officeholders in November's elections, challenging the notion that the party is a de facto white guys' club.

The slate of GOP minority candidates on the ballot this fall includes Hispanics, blacks and Vietnamese-Americans, running strongly in competitive races from Miami Beach to the Denver suburbs to Southern California.

Tim Scott, a black Republican, is rated a near-certain bet to win a House seat in South Carolina, while Marco Rubio leads the race for Florida's open Senate seat. Two Hispanic Republicans lead in the polls for governor in Nevada and New Mexico, and Indian-American Nikki Haley is poised to win the governorship in South Carolina.

Two other black Republican House candidates are in tight races to unseat Democratic incumbents.

"Our recruitment process is colorblind, but Republicans are fortunate to have a diverse group of candidates that is offering solutions to the job-killing agenda that Democrats have pursued in Washington over the last two years," said Paul Lindsay, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

The list of minority GOP candidates this year is bigger than in recent years, though Democrats have historically had far more success recruiting minority candidates and attracting minority support - a point driven home by Barack Obama's historic presidential victory in 2008.

While Democrats point with pride to their diversity and level of minority political support, a small number of those members have caused the party big headaches.More details here