While Republicans travel the country courting black voters, black political observers say they have been given new reason to question the GOP’s commitment to inclusion.

Attention is beginning to center on how and why the New York state Republican Party has seemingly given Randy Daniels, New York’s black Secretary of State, the cold shoulder in his bid to run for governor to succeed Gov. George E. Pataki, who announced last week he would not run for a fourth term.

According to The New York Times, Daniels, a Democrat-turned-Republican, has hired campaign consultants and a staff, set up a small campaign office and raised money. And he has boldly told reporters that he could beat any likely Republican candidate.

"Within 48 hours of the governor deciding he wasn't running again, 14 counties said that they wanted Randy Daniels to run," Daniels told The New York Times.

However, according to the Times, the state party's chairman, Stephen J. Minarik III, says Daniels lacks the name recognition to be a competitive candidate, and party leaders are turning their attention to several other candidates, including Tom Golisano, a billionaire from upstate New York.

The New York Observer reports that Minarik may have caused a furor within the party. An aide to Daniels has suggested that Minarik is a racist for opposing Daniels’ bid for governor after Minarik said Daniels couldn’t raise enough money to get elected.

Ron Walters, a political science professor at the University of Maryland, told BlackAmericaWeb.com Tuesday that he questions the GOP’s commitment of "inclusion" if the New York state party cannot embrace its only viable candidate for governor.

Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, has been traveling for months speaking to black organizations including the NAACP and the National Association of Black Journalists, as well as meeting with hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and appearing on Tavis Smiley’s PBS television program.

Speaking to black journalists last week in Atlanta, Mehlman discussed how President George W. Bush’s opportunity agenda is benefitting Americans from all backgrounds, and also focused on the Republican Party’s efforts to reach out to diverse communities.

"It’s more than just words, and more than outreach," Mehlman said. "Republicans are committed to inclusion. Outreach is when you show up to ask for the vote four weeks before the election. I’m here four years before the next presidential election asking for your help."

But Walters told BlackAmericaWeb.com that the GOP’s outreach efforts must be more clearly defined: Does reaching only entail recruiting black voters, or does it also include embracing potential black Republican candidates?

"What is the criteria for outreach?" Walters asked in an interview. "What is the basis for effective outreach? It’s about policies and taking stands on issues of substance. Here, they have an opportunity to support a black candidate."

Tara Wall, director of Outreach Communications for the Republican National Committee, told BlackAmericaWeb.com Tuesday that, according to its bylaws, the RNC cannot endorse any candidate prior to a primary.

Daniels, 53, was appointed secretary of state by Gov. Pataki in 2001 and switched his voter registration from Democratic to Republican in 2002. If he’s successful, Daniels, a former CBS News correspondent, would become the state party’s first black nominee for governor.

Daniels once served as a deputy mayor in Democratic Mayor David N. Dinkins administration, but his appointment ended abruptly after a woman accused him of sexual harassment. The woman withdrew the accusation and no formal charges were filed against Daniels.

The New York Observer called Daniels "a serious guy, and too quickly dismissed in some circles."

Daniels told reporters he can run a serious campaign and, with his background in public speaking and name recognition as secretary of state, maintains that he can defeat any opponents.

The challenge for Daniels, some say, is steady fund-raising and trying to convince white Republicans -- especially white voters in conservative upstate communities -- to elect a black man to govern the state of New York.  

"I think I have the right vision for the party," Daniels told The New York Times. "And I want to build this party."