The following is a list of black Republicans, past and present. This list is limited to black Americans who have worked in a direct, professional capacity in politics.
A Israel Abbott (1813–1887), Republican state representative from North Carolina, 1872–1874 David Abner (1826–1902), Republican state representative from Texas, 1874–1875, vice president of Republican State Convention 1876 Dinah Abrahamson (1954–2013), author, member of the Nebraska State Central Committee John O. Agwunobi, Assistant Secretary for Health (2006–2007) Ali Alexander (born 1984 or 1985), social media personality and activist, of African-American and Arab ancestry Archie Alexander (1888–1958), governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands Walter G. Alexander (1880–1953), first African-American to serve in the New Jersey Legislature"Negro in Speaker's Chair", The New York Times, March 31, 1921. Aris T. Allen (1910–1991), chair of the Maryland Republican Party Cheryl Lynn Allen (born 1947), judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania (2008–2015) Claude Allen (born 1960), White House domestic policy advisor Ethel D. Allen (1929–1981), Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, first African-American elected to Philadelphia City Council Richard Allen (1830–1909), member of the Texas House of Representatives James W. Ames (1864–1944), representative in the Michigan House of Representatives Renee Amoore (1953–2020), health care advocate; founder and president of the Amoore Group, Inc.; former candidate for Republican National Committee co-chairwoman Charles W. Anderson Jr. (1907–1960), first African-American legislator elected in Kentucky Eddie Andrews (born 1966), member of the Iowa House of Representatives (2021–present) John D. Anthony (born 1976), member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 75th district (2013–2016) Caesar Antoine (1836–1921), 13th lieutenant governor of Louisiana Benjamin W. Arnett (1838–1906), elected to Ohio General Assembly 1885 Alexander Asberry (1861–1903), member of the Texas House of Representatives
B
Pearl Bailey (1918–1990), 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 Laurence H. Banks (1897–1972), member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1947–1949) and Boston city council (1951–1952) Jose Celso Barbosa (1857–1921), medical doctor, sociologist, political leader, one of the first persons of black African descent to receive a medical doctor degree in the United States, founder of Republican Party of Puerto Rico Webster Barnaby (born 1959), member of the Florida House of Representatives Martin G. Barnes (1948–2012), mayor of Paterson, New Jersey Alfred S. Barnett (1858–1905), journalist, civil rights activist Ferdinand L. Barnett (1834–1932), member, Nebraska House of Representatives (1926–1928) Ferdinand Lee Barnett (1852–1936), journalist, lawyer, first African-American assistant state attorney[No Headline], The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois), September 12, 1888, p. 4. Accessed September 15, 2016. Kathy Barnette (born 1971), Republican candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in in 2020, and candidate for United States senator from Pennsylvania in 2022 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 Houston A.P. Bassett (1857–1920), member of the Texas House of Representatives Thomas Beck (1819–?), member of the Texas House of Representatives Ashley Bell, national director of African American Engagement Office, director of the Small Business Administration's Southeast Region Loyeau Berhel, mayor of Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1871) Michelle Bernard (born 1963), journalist, author, columnist 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 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 to Mississippi House of Representatives 1869 Peter Boulware (born 1974), NFL linebacker and Republican candidate for the Florida House of Representatives, District 9. John W. Boyd (1852–1932), Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives Neal E. Boyd (1975–2018), opera singer and former candidate for the Missouri House of Representatives Darryl Boyer, Florida politician and conservative activist 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, Life Always board member (an anti-abortion organization) 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), 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 (1933–2026), journalist, academic, businessman and commentator of the television show Tony Brown's Journal Yvonne Brown (1952–2012), first female black Republican mayor in Mississippi 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
C
Herman Cain (1945–2020), businessman, media personality, and 2012 candidate for President of the United States Lawrence Cain (1844–1884), elected to South Carolina House of Representatives 1868 and to South Carolina Senate 1872 Richard H. Cain (1825–1887), U.S. representative from South Carolina John H. Calhoun (1899–1988), member of the Atlanta City Council 1974–1978 Daniel Cameron (born 1985), 51st attorney general of Kentucky Francis Lewis Cardozo (1836–1903), South Carolina treasurer and South Carolina secretary of state Archibald Carey Jr. (1908–1981), appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as chair of his committee to reduce racial discrimination Selwyn Carrol (1928–2010), member of the Alaska House of Representatives 1973–1975, county auditor of Hampton County, South Carolina Jennifer Carroll (born 1959), lieutenant governor of Florida Ben Carson (born 1951), political commentator, pediatric neurosurgeon, 2016 presidential candidate, and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Donald Trump (2017–2021) Eunice Carter (1899–1970), first African-American assistant district attorney in New York state; known for her role in prosecuting "Lucky" Luciano Stefani Carter (born 1978), member of the Texas House of Representatives Octavius Valentine Catto (1839–1871), civil rights activist and African-American baseball pioneer Josaphat Celestin (born 1956), mayor of North Miami, Florida (2001–2005) Wilt Chamberlain (1936–1999), basketball player, supported Richard Nixon for president in 1968 and 1972, accompanied Nixon to funeral of Martin Luther King Jr. Julius Caesar Chappelle (1852–1904), legislator (1883–1886), Massachusetts House of RepresentativesThe African-American Electorate, 1st ed., by Walton, Hanes Jr., Donald R. Deskins Jr., Sherman Puckett. Publisher: The Congressional Quarterly, USA. June 2012. Juan Chastang (b. 1961/1962), Mobile County, Alabama commissioner Henry P. Cheatham (1857–1935), U.S. representative from North Carolina Ron Christie (born 1969), adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney Robert Church Jr. (1885–1952), founder, Lincoln League Memphis, Tennessee, eight times a delegate to the Republican National Convention Robert Reed Church (1839–1912), banker, 1900 delegate from Tennessee to the Republican National Convention Solomon T. Clanton (1857–1918), at-large delegate in 1892 from Louisiana to the Republican National Convention Eldridge Cleaver (1935–1998), author and civil rights leader Garry Cobb (born 1957), NFL linebacker, 2014 nominee for New Jersey 1st Congressional District Abram Colby (1800s), representative in the Georgia House of Representatives Harry A. Cole (1921–1999), first African-American elected to the Maryland Senate and serve on the Maryland Court of Appeals William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. (1920–2017), fourth United States Secretary of Transportation, first African-American Supreme Court Clerk Ward Connerly (born 1939), political activist, businessman, and former University of California regent Frank Cousins (born 1958), first African-American sheriff in Massachusetts Minnie M. Cox (1869–1933), first black postmaster in Mississippi Robyn Crittenden, Georgia Secretary of State and first African-American woman to serve as a statewide constitutional officer in Georgia Norris Wright Cuney (1846–1898), chairman of the Texas Republican Party (1886–1896) Green Currin (1842/1844–1918), member of the Oklahoma Territorial Legislature
D
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); a Republican before 1900, and a Democrat afterwards William L. Dawson (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 John DeBerry (1951–present), Democratic Tennessee state representative (1995–2021), later switched to Republican party Robert De Large (1842–1874), South Carolina congressman 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 on June 12, 1929, caused a scandal among southern Democrats Oscar Stanton De Priest (1871–1951), U.S. representative from Illinois