The GOP has a diverse group of candidates for the 2010 election

While the 2010 elections remain 14 months away, the Republican Party has recrutied a large number of diverse individuals to run for office in different elections.

In both the 2006 and 2008 election cycles, Republicans were often derided as not being friendly enough to minorities and other diverse groups. That helped to reinforce the label that Republicans were comprised of "rich, white men." Well, 2010 is shaping up to be a successful year for Republicans nation wide as they reach out to women, African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian-Americans. According to the Politico, the Republicans "could end up in 2011 with female governors in the two largest states in the nation—California and Texas. Or with a black senator from Texas, an Hispanic female governor in New Mexico, a Colorado governor in his early 30s and two Indian American governors in the Deep South—one of them female." A look at some of the candidates: California- Meg Whitman, the former CEO of E-Bay, is running for the Republican nomination for Governor and Carly Fiornia, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard is considering running for the Republican nomination to become a U.S. Senator. Texas- Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is challenging incumbent Governor Rick Perry in the GOP primary and has good odds of winning. To replace her seat, Michael Williams a Texas Railroad Commissioner is running for her current seat. That would make Williams, the first African American Republican to serve in the Senate in decades. Nevada- Former federal judge Brian Sandoval is running for governor of that state and Sue Lowden is preparing to challenge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for the seat. Among other possibilities, Republicans are poised to have women U.S. Senate nominees in both New Hampshire and Colorado, in addition to California and Nevada. Oklahoma and New Mexico have prominent women in primaries for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Republicans in Hawaii have all but nominated Lt. Governor Duke Aiona, whose heritage is Chinese, Portuguese, and native Hawaiian. These examples are just for Senate seats or for governorships. The GOP has lined up diverse individuals to run for House of Representative seats as well. With the party producing a slew of quality candidates, the 2010 elections should be shaping up to be very competitive.