Priebus: Obama won women because Republicans lost the 'emotional' vote

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on Wednesday continued his effort to reach out to minorities and women voters by suggesting that his party had failed to win over "cultural" and "emotional" voters in 2012.

During an interview on MSNBC, guest host Luke Russert gave Priebus an opportunity to explain how the GOP could change its image if it continued to put forward budgets like the one recently offered by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), which could give millionaires a $200,000 tax cut, according to Citizens for Tax Justice.

"Look, we're not losing the issues on the math," the RNC chairman insisted. "We're not losing the issues on spending and debt and jobs and the economy. Those are total winners for us. But what we found in the election is that while we're winning those arguments on spending and math, we're losing this sort of emotional/cultural vote out there in presidential elections."

Russert noted that former Republican Party chairman Michael Steele had recently criticized Priebus for claiming the party was reaching out to African-Americans while pushing policies like voter photo ID that tend to suppress black voters.

Priebus, however, dodged the question of voter suppression and said that he intended to "get in the community by the hundreds" to make the case to minority voters.

The MSNBC reporter also pressed the current Republican chairman to explain how continuing to spend millions of dollars to oppose the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a wise use of party resources.

"This is the position of our party," Priebus replied.

"Do you think it's inevitable -- do you think by the time you're 50, the party will say in its platform, 'You know what? We're not going to say that marriage is between a man and a woman wholeheartedly?'" Russert wondered.

"I don't know what's going to happen in nine years," Priebus admitted. "I know what our principles are, and I know our party believes that marriage is between one man and one woman. But I also know that we have a party that's going to be inclusive and is going to listen to people."

"That's the type of party that I want to continue to build."

Watch this video from MSNBC's The Daily Rundown, broadcast March 20, 2013.