List of African-American Republicans

The following is a list of African-American Republicans, past and present. This list is limited to black Americans who have worked in a direct, professional capacity in politics.

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1872 Currier and Ives print showing the first African American U.S. Senator and Representatives: Sen. Hiram Revels (R-MS), Rep. Benjamin S. Turner (R-AL), Robert DeLarge (R-SC), Josiah Walls (R-FL), Jefferson Long (R-GA), Joseph Rainey and Robert B. Elliott (R-SC), 1872

A

B
Walter Blackman is the first black Republican elected to the Arizona Legislature.
Edward Brooke was the first African American popularly elected to the United States Senate. Hiram Revels was the first black U.S. senator; however, he was elected to office by a legislature.
  • Pearl Bailey (1918–2001), singer, appointed "America's Ambassador of Love" by Richard Nixon.
  • Anna Simms Banks (1862–1923), first female delegate at the Kentucky's 7th congressional district Convention in Kentucky
  • Jose Celso Barbosa (1857–1921), medical doctor, sociologist, political leader, one of the first persons of African descent to receive a medical doctor degree in the United States, founder of Republican Party of Puerto Rico
  • Martin G. Barnes (1948–2012), Mayor of Paterson, New Jersey
  • Alfred S. Barnett, (1858-1905), Journalist, civil rights activist
  • Ferdinand Lee Barnett, (1852 -1936), Journalist, lawyer, first African-American assistant State Attorney
  • Ferdinand L. Barnett, (1834-1932), Member, Nebraska House of Representatives (1926-1928)
  • Kathy Barnette (born 1971), unsuccessful Republican candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, Pennsylvania 5th District 2020, unsuccessful candidate for Republican nomination for United States Senator from Pennsylvania 2022.
  • Houston A.P. Bassett (1857–1920), member of the Texas House of Representatives
  • Andrea Barthwell (b. 1953/1954), former Deputy Director for Demand Reduction at the Office of National Drug Control Policy
  • Tony Barton (born 1961), pastor, member of Kansas House of Representatives 2015–2017
  • Thomas Beck (1819–?), member of the Texas House of Representatives
  • Ashley Bell, National Director of African American Engagement Office and the Director of the Small Business Administration's Southeast Region[1]
  • Walter Blackman, Arizona state representative
  • J. Kenneth Blackwell (born 1948), former Ohio State Treasurer and Secretary of State; 2006 Republican candidate for Governor of Ohio
  • Donald Blakey (born 1936), member of the Delaware House of Representatives
  • Edward David Bland (1848–1927), member of the Virginia House of Delegates
  • Michelle Bernard (born 1963), journalist, author, columnist
  • Lynette Boggs (born 1963), Las Vegas City Councilwoman, former Clark County, Nevada commissioner, former candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives
  • Claude M. Bolton Jr. (1945–2015), United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (2002–2008)
  • Mary Booze (1878–1955), RNC member from Mississippi
  • Deneen Borelli, (born 1969), conservative author, radio and television personality and columnist
  • Harrison N. Bouey (1841 - 1909), elected Probate Judge, Edgefield County South Carolina in 1875, elected county sheriff in 1876, but was not allowed to take office
  • Jesse Freeman Boulden (1820 - 1899), elected Mississippi House of Representatives 1869
  • Peter Boulware (born 1974), NFL linebacker and Republican candidate for the Florida House of Representatives, District 9.
  • Neal E. Boyd (1975–2018), opera singer and former candidate for the Missouri House of Representatives
  • Jennette Bradley (born 1952), former Treasurer of the State of Ohio
  • Julian Bradley (born 1981), Wisconsin State Senator
  • Randy Brock (born 1943), State Auditor of Vermont, State Senator of Vermont
  • Stephen Broden (born 1952), conservative commentator, Life Always board member (an anti-abortion organization) and evangelical pastor, 2010 Congressional candidate
  • Edward Brooke (1919–2015), U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, first African American elected by popular vote to the U.S. Senate
  • Hallie Quinn Brown (1845–1949), an educator, writer and activist
  • Janice Rogers Brown (born 1949), U.S. Court of Appeals judge, California Supreme Court judge, and civil servant
  • Jeremiah A. Brown (1841 - 1913), elected to Ohio House of Representatives 1885
  • Reginald J. Brown (1940–2005), Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) (2001–2005)
  • Solomon G. Brown (1829 - 1906), served in Washington, D.C. House of Delegates (1872 - 1874)
  • Tony Brown (born 1933), a journalist, academic, businessman and commentator of the television show Tony Brown's Journal
  • Blanche Bruce (1841–1898), U.S. Senator from Mississippi, first African American to serve a full term in the U.S. Senate
  • C.L. Bryant (born 1956), Baptist minister, radio & television host
  • J. Mark Burns (born 1979), pastor and candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in South Carolina
  • Nannie Helen Burroughs (1878–1961), educator, activist and feminist
  • Walter Moses Burton (1840–1913), member of the Texas State Senate
  • William Owen Bush (1832–1907), member of the Washington State Legislature
  • Keith Butler (b. 1955/1956), Republican national committeeman from Michigan, former councilman for Detroit, minister, and former U.S. Senatorial candidate
  • William F. Butler, politician, president of the Negro Republican Party, delegate to Republican National Convention in 1872
  • Yvonne Brown (1952–2012), first female black Republican mayor in Mississippi

C
Herman Cain
Ben Carson

D
Frederick Douglass

E

F

G
  • Matthew Gaines (1840–1900), community leader, minister, and Republican Texas State Senator.
  • James Garner, mayor of the Village of Hempstead, New York, 2004 Congressional candidate
  • Althea Garrison (born 1940), former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
  • Robert A. George, editorial writer for the New York Post, blogger and pundit
  • Mifflin Wistar Gibbs (1823–1915), American consul to Madagascar
  • Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs (1821–1874), Secretary of State of Florida and Florida Superintendent of Public Instruction
  • John Gibbs, HUD official in the Trump administration, Candidate for congress in Michigan.
  • James Golden, producer on the Rush Limbaugh radio talk show
  • Walter A. Gordon (1894–1976) 18th Governor of the United States Virgin Islands
  • Elisha Winfield Green (c. 1815–1893), Baptist minister, elected vice-president Kentucky Negro Republican Party 1867
  • James Monroe Gregory (1849–1915), appointed to the board of trustees of the Washington, D.C. public schools in 1886, delegate to the 1892 Republican National Convention
  • William Henry Grey (1829 - 1888), represented Phillips County, Arkansas at Arkansas Constitutional Convention in 1868, he served in the Arkansas House of Representatives for Phillips County (1868 - 1869), elected to the Arkansas State Senate in 1875, served as Clerk of the First Circuit Court and ex-offico Recorder of Deeds in 1870, in 1872, he became Arkansas Commissioner of Immigration and State Lands.
  • Rosey Grier (born 1932), former professional football player, Protestant minister, actor and former candidate for Governor of California, 2018
  • Archibald Grimké (1849–1930), an American lawyer, diplomat, and national vice-president of the NAACP
  • Elbert Guillory (born 1944), former state senator in Louisiana's 24th district

H

I
  • Niger Innis (born 1968), commentator and activist

J

K
Alveda King, former member of the Georgia House of Representatives

L

M
Angela McGlowan
  • Leo Mackay Jr. (born 1961), deputy secretary of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Mesha Mainor (born 1975), member Georgia House of Representatives, District 56, Democrat until 2023, Republican since 2023
  • J. B. Martin (1885–1973), president of the Negro American League, owner of the Chicago American Giants
  • James W. Mason (1841–1871), legislator from Arkansas
  • Omarosa Manigault Newman (born 1974), Assistant to President Donald Trump January 3, 2017 to January 20, 2018. Democrat prior to 2015, Republican 2015 to 2019, Independent since 2019.
  • Kenneth Mapp (born 1955) governor of the United States Virgin Islands (2015–2019) (elected as an Independent)
  • Lenny McAllister (born 1972), political analyst, community activist, television and radio host, author, 2013 Congressional candidate
  • Edward P. McCabe (1850–1920), Treasurer of Logan County, Oklahoma
  • William Madison McDonald (1866–1950), State Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas
  • Angela McGlowan (born 1970), political analyst and 2010 Congressional candidate
  • James Meredith (born 1933), civil rights leader
  • Michael the Black Man (b. Maurice Woodside 1980), musician, operator of several websites, campaigned for President Trump holding a Blacks for Trump sign
  • Leon P. Miller (1899–1980) first African-American judge in West Virginia
  • Thomas Ezekiel Miller (1849–1938), U.S. Representative from South Carolina
  • Arthur Wergs Mitchell (1883-1968), active in Republican politics in Chicago, Illinois until 1932, when he switched to Democrat and represented Illinois In the United States House of Representatives (1935-1943).
  • Charles Lewis Mitchell (1829 - 1912), member of the Massachusetts State Legislature (1866 - 1867)
  • Robert J. Moore (1844–?), member of the Texas House of Representatives
  • Walthall M. Moore (1886–1960), first African American to serve in the Missouri state legislature
  • Clement G. Morgan (1859–1929), Boston attorney, civil rights activist, and city official
  • Eric Motley (born 1972), former Deputy Associate Director, Office of Presidential Personnel in Bush Administration
  • George Washington Murray (1853–1926), U.S. Representative from South Carolina
  • E. Frederic Morrow (1909–1994), first African-American to hold an executive position at the White House. He served under President Dwight D. Eisenhower as Administrative Officer for Special Projects from 1955 to 1961.
  • Deroy Murdock (born 1963), columnist.

N

O
  • James E. O'Hara (1844–1905), congressman from North Carolina
  • Edwin R. Overall (1835-1902), abolitionist, civil rights activist, civil servant, politician, candidate for Nebraska Legislature 1880, 1882, 1890
  • Burgess Owens (born 1951) U.S. Congressman (Utah, district 4) and former NFL player
  • Candace Owens (born 1989), political commentator
  • Jesse Owens (1913–1980), athlete

P
Colin Powell, 65th Secretary of State
  • Rod Paige (born 1933), seventh U.S. Secretary of Education
  • Barrington D. Parker (1915–1993), judge of the District Court for the District of Columbia
  • Sherman Parker (1971–2008), Missouri state representative, ran for U.S. House of Representatives
  • Star Parker (born 1956), author, political commentator, 2010 Congressional candidate
  • Lynne Patton (born 1972), Regional Director, Housing & Urban Development, 2016 RNC Keynote Speaker
  • Charles Payne (television personality), (born 1962), financial journalist
  • Patrick Penn, member, Kansas House of Representatives, elected 2020, took office January 11, 2021
  • Edward J. Perkins (born 1928), first African-American U.S. ambassador to South Africa
  • Jesse Lee Peterson (born 1949), civil rights activist and founder of Brotherhood of New Destiny
  • Joseph C. Phillips (born 1962), actor, columnist and commentator
  • Pio Pico (1801–1894), last governor of Mexican California. Formed the Republican Party in California.[14]
  • Samuel Pierce (1922–2000), Housing and Urban Development Secretary
  • Katrina Pierson (born 1976), Communications Consultant, National Spokesperson Donald Trump 2016 Presidential Campaign, Senior Advisor 2020 Re-Election
  • Mazi Melesa Pilip, Ethiopian-born American politician
  • P. B. S. Pinchback (1837–1921), twenty-fourth governor of Louisiana; first African-American governor of a U.S. state
  • Colin Powell (1937 - 2021), 65th United States Secretary of State
  • Michael Powell (born 1963), 24th Chairman of the FCC
  • Joe Profit (born 1949), former Atlanta Falcons player; candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in Georgia
  • Pierre-Richard Prosper (born 1963), Bush Administration war crimes official

R
Condoleezza Rice, 66th Secretary of State
  • Joseph H. Rainey (1832–1887), U.S. Representative from South Carolina, first African American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives
  • Benjamin F. Randolph (1820–1868), State Senator in the South Carolina State Senate
  • Oliver Randolph (1882–1951), second African American elected to the New Jersey Legislature
  • Tony Randolph (born 1966), member of the South Dakota House of Representatives, District 35
  • James T. Rapier (1837–1883), U.S. Representative from Alabama
  • Mike Reichenbach (born 1971), South Carolina State Senator since 2022
  • Hiram Rhodes Revels (1827–1901), U.S. Senator from Mississippi, first African American to serve in the U.S. Senate
  • Condoleezza Rice (born 1954), 66th United States Secretary of State
  • Herneitha Richardson, political commentator
  • Matthew Ricketts (1858–1917), member of the Nebraska House of Representatives
  • Adelbert H. Roberts (1860-1937), Member Illinois House of Representatives (1918-1922), Member, Illinois Senate (1924 - 1934)
  • Frederick Madison Roberts (1879–1952), first African-American in the California State Assembly
  • Shack Roberts Meshack Roberts was elected to the State Legislature of Texas from the 5th District in 1873 and for two later terms, the last from the 10th District.
  • Jack E. Robinson III (1960–2017), party nominee for U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and Secretary of the Commonwealth in Massachusetts
  • Mark Robinson (born 1968), Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina since 2021
  • Yolanda Hill Robinson, Second Lady of North Carolina since 2021
  • Joe Rogers (1964–2013), Lieutenant Governor of Colorado, youngest Lieutenant Governor in Colorado history
  • Carson Ross (born 1946), Mayor of Blue Springs, Missouri, former Missouri state rep
  • Jackie Robinson (1919–1972), baseball player (changed parties after Goldwater nomination).
  • Angel Joy Chavis Rocker (1966-2003), guidance counselor, first African-American woman candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States 2000.
  • George Thompson Ruby (1841–1882), member of the Texas State Senate
  • George Lewis Ruffin (1834–1886), attorney, judge, Massachusetts state legislator, and Boston city councilman
  • Boyd Rutherford (born 1957), Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, 2015–2023


S
Michael Steele, 64th Chairman of the Republican National Committee
  • Dwayne Sawyer (born 1966), State Auditor of Indiana
  • Darrell C. Scott, pastor, co-founder of National Diversity Coalition for Trump
  • Emmett Jay Scott (1872–1957), educator, journalist, author, active in Republican politics, public relations adviser to every Republican National Convention from 1928 to 1948
  • Paul H. Scott (born 1982), Michigan State Representative
  • Tim Scott (born 1965), U.S. Senator from South Carolina, first African-American senator to win election in the South since Reconstruction and former Representative from South Carolina's 1st Congressional District
  • Marvin Scott (born 1944), congressional Candidate
  • Winsome Sears (born 1964), Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, member of the Virginia House of Delegates, 2004 Congressional Candidate.
  • Tara Setmayer (born 1975), former Communications Director for Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher in the U.S. House of Representatives (2006–2013) and current CNN Political Commentator (2014–present)
  • Edwin Sexton (1923-1983), served in the Kansas State Senate (1964-1965)
  • T. W. Shannon (born 1978), Former speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives
  • Hercules Simons (born 1840's), member of South Carolina legislature during Reconstruction.
  • Roscoe Simmons (1881–1951), journalist, orator, and political activist
  • John Andrew Singleton, (1895-1970), Member, Nebraska House of Representatives (1926-1928), afterward became a Democrat
  • Millard F. Singleton, (1859-1930), Justice of the Peace, 8th Ward, Omaha, Nebraska (1895), Alternate delegate to Republican National Convention 1892
  • Robert Smalls (1839–1915), U.S. Representative from South Carolina
  • John J. Smith (1820–1906), abolitionist and Massachusetts state representative
  • Joshua I. Smith (born 1941), appointed commissioner of Minority Business Development by President George H. W. Bush
  • Robert Lloyd Smith (1861–1942), member of the Texas House of Representatives
  • Thomas S. Smith (1917–2002), member of the New Jersey General Assembly
  • John H. Smythe (1844 1908), United States Ambassador to Liberia (1878 1881) and (188 lasr2 - 1885)
  • Clay Smothers (1935–2004), member of the Texas House of Representatives
  • DeForest "Buster" Soaries (born 1951), former New Jersey Secretary of State
  • Angela Stanton-King (born 1977), Former congressional candidate in Georgia's 5th district
  • Michael Steele (born 1958), political commentator, former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, former candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2006 and former elected chairman of the Republican National Committee (2009–2010)
  • Shelby Steele (born 1946), author
  • James H. Stewart (1859–1924), member of the Texas House of Representatives
  • McCants Stewart (1877–1919), lawyer
  • Thomas Stith III (born 1963), member of the city council of Durham, North Carolina, 2004 Candidate for Lieutenant Governor, 2007 mayoral candidate for Durham, North Carolina, Chief of Staff to Governor Pat McCrory
  • Charles Stokes (1902–1996), member of the Washington House of Representatives
  • Louis Wade Sullivan (born 1933), Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • Carol M. Swain (born 1954), author and professor at Vanderbilt University
  • Lynn Swann (born 1952), NFL player and former Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate

T
Clarence Thomas, Associate Supreme Court Justice

U
  • Sheryl Underwood (born 1963), comedian, actress, television host
  • James L. Usry (1922–2002), mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey
  • Jill Upson (born 1966), West Virginia House of Delegates

V
  • William T. Vernon (1877–1941), Register of the Treasury under President Theodore Roosevelt[16]
  • Joy Villa (born 1986), singer, songwriter, actress, YouTuber, has expressed an interest in running for Congress as a Republican

W
Allen West, former Congressman from Florida's 22nd District
  • Dale Wainwright (born 1961), former associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court
  • Edward G. Walker (1830 -1901), served as a Republican in the Massachusetts State Legislature (1866 - 1867), later joined the Democratic Party, and still later the Negro Party.
  • Herschel Walker (born 1962), football player, bobsledder, sprinter, and mixed martial artist, active in several Republican campaigns, addressed 2020 Republican National Convention in support of President Trump
  • George Wallace, Georgia state senator during the Reconstruction era, expelled on September 12, 1868, due to his race
  • Josiah T. Walls (1842–1905), Former U.S. Representative from Florida, and one of the first African-Americans to serve in the U.S. House
  • Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), educator and activist
  • Maurice Washington (born 1956), Nevada state senator
  • T. K. Waters, sheriff of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
  • J. C. Watts (born 1957), U.S. Representative from Oklahoma
  • Ida B. Wells (1862–1931), civil rights advocate and co-founder of the NAACP
  • Cindy Werner (born 1959), State Ambassador - Frederick Douglass Foundation-WI, former school board trustee, 2022 Lt. Governor candidate - WI
  • Allen West (born 1961), Texas Republican Party Chairman and former U.S. Representative from Florida
  • John Francis Wheaton (1866–1922), a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
  • George Henry White (1852–1918), former U.S. representative from North Carolina
  • James White (born 1964), a current member of the Texas House of Representatives
  • James T. White (1837 - 1892), member of the Arkansas House of Representatives and Arkansas Senate in the late 1860s.
  • Ruben B. White served in the Arkansas Senate (1873 - 1874)
  • J. Ernest Wilkins Sr. (1894–1959), former Assistant Secretary of Labor under President Eisenhower[17]
  • Armstrong Williams (born 1962), radio and television commentator
  • Benjamin Franklin Williams (1819–1886), member of the Texas House of Representatives
  • Michael L. Williams (born 1953), Texas Railroad Commissioner
  • Q. V. Williamson (1918–1985), member of the Atlanta Board of Aldermen (1966–1981)
  • Anthony Wilson member of Georgia State House of Representatives during Reconstruction
  • Butler R. Wilson (1861–1939), Boston civil rights activist
  • David S. Wilson (born 1981), member of the Alaska Senate (2017–present)[18][19]
  • Hercules Wilson member of the Georgia House of Representatives (1882-1885)
  • Jackie Winters (1937–2019), member of the Oregon State Senate
  • Jonathan Jasper Wright (1840–1885), state senator from South Carolina, first African-American state supreme court justice
  • Stanley Wright, Alaska State Assemblyman (2023-present)
  • LaMetta Wynn (1933–2021), mayor of Clinton, Iowa (1995–2007)

Y
  • James H. Young (1860–1921), politician
  • William F. Yardley (1844–1924), anti-segregation advocate, first African American candidate for governor of Tennessee (1876)

See also

References
  1. Agboola, Adedamola (February 21, 2018). "Trump Administration Appoints Its First Minority Director to the Small Business Administration". Black Enterprise.
  2. Alaska Legislature Roster of Members 1913–2014 (PDF). Juneau: Alaska Legislative Affairs Agency. 2014. pp. 49, 97.
  3. Mitchell, Elaine B., ed. (1973). Alaska Blue Book (First ed.). Juneau: Alaska Department of Education, Division of State Libraries. p. 84.
  4. "Selwyn George Carrol (obituary)". Hampton County Guardian. Hampton. December 29, 2010. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  5. "Florida House of Representatives – Jennifer Carroll – 2014 – 2016 ( Speaker Crisafulli )". Myfloridahouse.gov. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  6. "Leading Authorities Speakers Ron Christie". Leadingauthorities.com. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  7. The African-American Electorate, 1st ed., by Walton, Hanes Jr., Donald R. Deskins Jr., Sherman Puckett. Publisher: The Congressional Quarterly, USA. June 2012.
  8. Joan Potter (2002). African American Firsts: Famous Little-Known and Unsung Triumphs of Blacks ... Dafina Books. p. 141. ISBN 9780758202437. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  9. "William T. Coleman, Jr". Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  10. "Coleman: A Choice Cabinet Choice - TIME". Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved November 11, 2007.
  11. Illescas, Carlos (June 7, 2016). "For Ryan Frazier, a political future tied to the GOP U.S. Senate race". The Denver Post. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  12. Alaska Legislature Roster of Members 1913-2014, pp. 61–67, 99
  13. Eppenbach, Sarah; Foster, Scott, eds. (1983). Alaska Blue Book (Sixth ed.). Juneau: Alaska Department of Education, Division of State Libraries. p. 85.
  14. "Pio Pico: The Last Governor of Mexican California", Dr Carlos Salomon 2010
  15. Peter J. Boyer (2008-10-06). "The Appalachian Problem". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  16. "Online Exhibitions | Kenneth Spencer Research Library". Spencer.lib.ku.edu. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  17. David A. Nichols (2007-09-04). A Matter of Justice: Eisenhower and the Beginning of the Civil Rights Revolution. Simon and Schuster. p. 222. ISBN 9781416545545. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  18. Lockyer, Ellen (August 18, 2016). "Wilson upsets Gattis for state Senate seat". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  19. Hollander, Zaz (September 28, 2016). "Wasilla councilman poised to become first African-American senator from Mat-Su". Alaska Dispatch News. p. A1. Retrieved September 29, 2016.

Further reading
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