House Republicans are making good progress in their most critical task toward being competitive in 2020 — recruiting. But the harder work may be to get top potential candidates through primaries and on the November ballot, especially when it comes to women and candidates of color. With Democrats' wins in 2018, their party brought in the most diverse group of freshmen ever to Washington. Republicans, however, elected only one new female member, West Virginia Rep. Carol Miller, and there are now just 13 GOP women in the House. Only one Republican freshman, Ohio Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, was Hispanic. Overall, Republicans have only one black House member, one Asian-American member, and seven who are Hispanic. The NRCC's recruitment chairman, Indiana Rep. Susan Brooks, does recognize the urgency Republicans face. "It's important that we, as a conference, do a better job of looking like America, and better representing the very diverse country that we have," she told Roll Call in April. According to the National Republican Congressional Committee, they have contacted 385 recruits as of the end of May, many of whom

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