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List of African-American Republicans facts for kids

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First Colored Senator and Representatives
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

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.

A

B

Walter Blackman by Gage Skidmore
Walter Blackman is the first black Republican elected to the Arizona Legislature.
Edward Brooke
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
  • 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 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 by Gage Skidmore
Herman Cain
Ben Carson official portrait
Ben Carson

D

Frederick Douglass (circa 1879)
Frederick Douglass
  • Randy Daniels (born 1950), Secretary of State of New York, 2006 Gubernatorial candidate
  • Stacey Dash (b. 1966/1967), actress and former talk show host and candidate for California's 44th congressional district in the 2018 Congressional Election
  • Artur Davis (born 1967), Democratic Alabama Congressman, speaker at 2012 Republican National Convention, Republican (2012–2015)
  • Ruth A. Davis (born 1943), diplomat and 24th Director General of the United States Foreign Service
  • Richard A. Dawson (1848 - 1906), served in the Arkansas State Senate (1873 - 1874). He was a Republican before 1900, and a Democrat afterwards.
  • William L. Dawson (politician) (1886 - 1970), served on the Chicago, Illinois City Council as a Republican (1933 - 1939). Switched to Democrat in 1939 and was afterward elected to Congress as a Democrat.
  • Paris Dennard (born 1982), former White House aide to George W. Bush, CNN and NPR contributor
  • Timothy DeFoor (born 1961 or 1962), Pennsylvania Auditor General since 2021, first African-American elected to a statewide office in Pennsylvania
  • William B. Derrick (1843 - 1913), Clergyman, active in civil rights and Republican politics
  • Diamond and Silk Lynnette Hardaway ("Diamond") and Rochelle Richardson ("Silk"), live-stream video bloggers, political activists, and former Fox Network hosts
  • Lurita Doan (born 1958), former administrator of the United States General Services Administration
  • Jessie De Priest (1870–1961), Music teacher, wife of Congressman Oscar Stanton De Priest, her presence at a White House tea given by Lou Henry Hoover June 12, 1929, caused a scandal among southern Democrats.
  • Oscar Stanton De Priest (1871–1951), U.S. Representative from Illinois
  • Robert DeLarge (1842–1874), South Carolina congressman
  • Shamed Dogan (born 1978), Missouri State Representative (2015–present)
  • Byron Donalds (born 1978), U.S. Representative (FL) and former Florida State representative
  • Frederick Douglass (1818–1895), abolitionist, editor, orator, author, and statesman
  • Willie Dove (born 1945), Kansas State Representative
  • Antoine Dubuclet (1810–1887), State Treasurer of Louisiana
  • Damon Dunn (born 1976), former football player, politician
  • Oscar Dunn (1826–1871), 11th Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana
  • Edward Duplex (1831–1900), Mayor of Wheatland, California (1888)

E

  • Larry Elder (born 1952), talk radio host and commentator, candidate in the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election
  • Robert Brown Elliott (1842–1884), U.S. Representative from South Carolina
  • Clark Ervin (born 1959), first Inspector General of the US Department of Homeland Security
  • James Evans, Chairman of the Utah Republican Party
  • Melvin H. Evans (1917–1984), U.S. Representative from, and former Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands
  • Charles Evers (1922–2020), civil rights leader, Mayor of Fayette, Mississippi

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

  • Alphonso Jackson (born 1945), thirteenth Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
  • Alvin B. Jackson, Former member of the Utah State Senate
  • Raynard Jackson, political consultant and political analyst for WUSA*9 TV (CBS affiliate) in Washington, DC
  • Richard E. Jackson (born 1945), Commissioner of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles; first African-American mayor of a city in New York State
  • Conrad James (born 1974), member of the New Mexico House of Representatives
  • John E. James (born 1981), U.S. Representative from Michigan and candidate for the U.S. Senate from Michigan in 2018 and 2020
  • Kay Coles James (born 1949), director for the United States Office of Personnel Management 2001–2005, president of The Heritage Foundation (2018-2021), Virginia Secretary of the Commonwealth nominee
  • Dr. Mildred Fay Jefferson (1927–2010), first African-American woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School; Republican candidate for U.S. House and U.S. Senate
  • Wallace B. Jefferson (born 1963), Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas
  • Edward A. Johnson (1860–1944), member of the New York State Assembly
  • Fitz Johnson (born 1963), Georgia Public Service Commissioner
  • Henry Lincoln Johnson (1870–1925), attorney and politician, head of the black-and-tan faction in Georgia
  • James Weldon Johnson (1871–1944), first Black manager of the NAACP, president of the Colored Republican Club
  • Peter K. Jones (1834–1895), member of the Virginia House of Delegates
  • Scipio Africanus Jones (1863–1943), Arkansas delegate to the Republican National Convention
  • Shandy W. Jones (1816-1886), member of the Alabama House of Representatives (1868 - 1870).
  • Vernon Jones (born 1960), member of the Georgia House of Representatives 1993 to 2001 and since 2017. Originally a Democrat, he switched to Republican in January 2021.
  • E.W. Jackson, (born 1952), GOP nominee for Lt. Governor of Virginia in 2013, President of STAND and CETF, Marine Corps Veteran, and graduate of Harvard Law School

K

Alveda King by Gage Skidmore
Alveda King, former member of the Georgia House of Representatives
  • Alan Keyes (born 1950), diplomat, media personality and nominee for the U.S. Senate in Maryland and Illinois
  • Alveda King (born 1951), minister, political activist, author, niece of Martin Luther King Jr.
  • Don King (born 1931), boxing promoter, attended 2009 Republican National Convention
  • Mabel King (1932–1999), television and film actress
  • Martin Luther King, Sr., (1899–1984), pastor, missionary, civil rights activist
  • Kimberly Klacik (born 1982), former candidate for congress in Maryland's 7th district.

L

M

Angela McGlowan (cropped)
Angela McGlowan

N

  • Sophia A. Nelson (born 1967), lawyer, author, political commentator
  • Constance Berry Newman (born 1935), U.S. diplomat; former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs; member of International Republican Institute
  • William Nickerson Jr. (1879–1945), businessman, publisher, candidate for presidential elector on the Republican ticket of Dewey-Bricker in 1944

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 2005
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.
  • 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 cropped
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
Michael Steele, 64th Chairman of the Republican National Committee

T

Clarence Thomas official SCOTUS portrait
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

W

Allen West, Official Portrait, 112th Congress
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
  • 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)
  • 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

  • Black conservatism
  • Hip Hop Republican
  • Lists of African Americans
  • National Black Republican Association
  • Negro Republican Party
  • Southern strategy
  • List of American conservatives
  • Black conservatism in the United States
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List of African-American Republicans Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.