MILWAUKEE — After their defeat in 2020, Republicans redoubled their outreach effort to Black voters opening community centers in battleground states.

An example of that outreach was visible Tuesday as a diverse crowd mingled at the Black Republican Mayor’s Association luncheon.

“People are chasing ideas not gender, not skin color,” said Rep. Mike Bost (R-Illinois) “It is a time when we’re coming together as the nation that we’re supposed to be.”

In the 2020 election, Donald Trump won 35 percent of Hispanic voters and 8 percent of Black voters. Any gain among those groups would help. An Associated Press poll conducted last month found that 7 in 10 Black adults have an unfavorable view of Trump.

On Monday, night 1 of the convention, model and influencer Amber Rose vouched for the Trump movement. 

“The best chance we have to give our babies a better life is to elect Donald Trump president of the United States,” she told attendees. “I believed the left-wing propaganda that Donald Trump was a racist … I did my research and looked into all things Donald Trump. … I realized Donald Trump and his supporters don’t care if you’re Black, white, gay or straight. It’s all love. 

Black Chicago pastor Corey Brooks is scheduled to close out Tuesday night’s festivities with prayer.

“We’re concerned about the same things that most Americans are concerned about,” he said earlier in the day. “We’re concerned about education. We’re concerned about the economic situation. We’re concerned about immigration. We’re concerned about being overtaxed.” 

President Biden, meanwhile, is not taking Black and brown voters for granted. He was scheduled to conduct an interview with BET before delivering remarks at the NAACP Convention in Las Vegas.

Aurora Mayor Richard C. Irvin is chairman of the Black Republican Mayor’s Association.