The GOP Twitter account tried to promote their candidates of color on Sunday by saying that among state and federal office they have 40, "a record number of Black Republicans running for office and winning at all levels."
But those well-versed in math and others well-versed in history couldn't help but notice that 40 out of over 7,500 officials around the country isn't exactly the best number. In fact, it's just .533 percent of all GOP candidates who are Black, according to those numbers.
Professor Dan Smith said that the numbers are actually higher than 7,500 offices. He explained that there are 90,000 local offices in the United States. He's presumably counting city councils, county commissions and everything else. Using that number, it would mean that Republicans have fewer than .05 percent of their candidates who are Black.
But it was the fact that the GOP bragged about it being history-making that confused others. After the Civil War, when Republicans were on the side of the Union, there were
"In all, 16 African Americans served in the U.S. Congress during Reconstruction; more than 600 more were elected to the state legislatures, and hundreds more held local offices across the South," History.com explained Steve Vladeck, the Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts at the University of Texas School of Law.
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