By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer 

July 9, 2008 – A group of high-profile Black Republicans want Sen. John McCain to woo Black voters.  While admitting that running against Sen. Barack Obama will make it tough to win over Blacks, they’re encouraging him to go for it. 

On Tuesday, NBC/The National Journal reported African-American Republicans met with McCain in his northern Virginia campaign headquarters and told the Arizona senator not to abandon the notion of courting Black voters.

The meeting of high-powered Black conservatives included former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, former Oklahoma Rep. J.C. Watts, and via conference call, Lynn Swann, the former pro football star who ran for governor of Pennsylvania in 2006.

According to NBC, the group delivered a message that McCain and the Republican Party should reach out to Black folks through “conversation and engagement” on issues they care about, like economic policy and health care.

“It’s important, especially with an African American running on the Democratic side, that the party reawaken its relationship (with Black voters), no matter how tattered and torn it has been over the years,” Steele told NBC. 

The McCain campaign seems convinced they can’t get the Black vote so why bother, but in a close race, no candidate should ignore a registered voter.