Presidential Election 2012 Results: Why The GOP Must Reconsider Its Approach To Women, Latinos and LGBT Voters

After a decisive loss in the presidential election, Republicans throughout the nation have been forced to analyze their party's loss of support among major demographic groups including women, Latinos, and LGBT. The party's supposed "war on women," hard-line immigration policies and LGBT-unfriendly attitude have pushed many potential voters away.

Women

The Republican party's strong anti-abortion stance and recent rape-related comments are just a few reasons why women did not support Romney on Tuesday by wider margins. The various controversial comments made by several GOP candidates reverberated around the nation, tainting the party and causing some to declare that Republicans were waging a "war on women."

According to Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republicans must stop "acting like the woman is a throw-away". On Thursday, Huchison told Politico, "We've got to talk to women about the issues they care about."

This includes abortion and equal rights, which presidential candidate Romney was either against (abortion) or did not comment enough on (equal rights) during his campaign.

Latinos

Without a doubt, Latinos were major contributors to President Barack Obama's re-election victory. According to Latino Decisions, 75 percent of Latinos voted for Obama, putting Republicans on notice that they must reconsider how they approach the country's largest minority group.  

According to the Associated Press, Republican candidate Mitt Romney only attained about 27 percent of the Latino vote, less than any previous presidential candidate in the past 16 years. Romney's support for hard-line immigration reform, as well as "self-deportation" comments during the primaries, alienated many Latino voters.

Al Cardenas, chairman of the American Conservative Union, told the AP, "We could have won this election if the party had a better brand name with Hispanics. I don't believe there a path to the White House in the future that doesn't include 38 percent to 40 percent Hispanic support."

LGBT

The GOP's anti-same-sex marriage stance was crucial in alienating the LGBT community. Romney's support for the Defense of Marriage act further pushed away potential LGBT Republican voters. Gay rights are increasingly being accepted throughout the country and Tuesday's election should prompt Republicans to seriously reconsider their thoughts concerning same-sex marriage and other LGBT civil rights. 

Many Republicans and analyst agree that conservative must reevaluate how they forge ahead and how they must prepare for the next presidential election in 2016. Some say that focusing on the economy is one way to recapture lost voters. However, it is safe to say that not accepting the changes in today's society and attempting to embrace them will further cripple the GOP.