The GOP's new hue

This won’t solve the GOP’s deep structural problems in a rapidly-changing country—namely the party’s weakness among young and non-white voters—but the unusual crop of candidates plays against stereotypes of the party in ways that are a vast relief to top Republican strategists.

There has never been a non-white female governor in the nation’s history—yet the GOP could elect two in November. New Mexico’s Susana Martinez, an Hispanic, won her party’s nomination last month and South Carolina’s Haley, who got just under half the vote in her primary Tuesday and is the heavy favorite in a runoff later this month…

In the short-term, a diverse group of GOP officeholders next year would translate into a new set of potential surrogates for the party’s presidential candidate in 2012. Particularly in battleground states, having a woman or minority statewide official could help in those communities where Republican White House hopefuls have lagged…

More importantly, though, the election of a roster of non-white-male Republicans now would be self-reinforcing in the years to come both with candidates and voters.

“This is going to lead to more diverse candidates running,” said former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove. “And their election and their performance will help further pry open these demographics.”