A Republican minority outreach center in Georgia has been closed down, with its new proprietors turning the venue into a sex shop.
A branch of upmarket adult store Adam and Eve has replaced a closed down center that was once used by the GOP to better connect with Hispanic voters on Peachtree Industrial Blvd, Norcross, Georgia, according to a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Once the home to community events and celebrations designed to increase the vote among traditionally Democratic leaning demographics, it would appear the venue is now dedicated to an entirely different type of connection.
Newsweek has contacted Adam and Eve for clarification via the contact form on its website. The space now occupied by the store is one of several that were occupied by Republican National Committee (RNC) outreach centers that have closed in recent years, including at least two others in the Atlanta suburbs.
In Suwanee, Georgia, another RNC outreach center has been replaced by a dental office, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. All but five of the RNC's Hispanic outreach centers closed in January this year, with one in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, being turned into an ice cream shop, according to a report by Heartland Signal.
When asked about the closure, Chris LaCivita, the RNC's chief of staff, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "With an operation fueled by hundreds of thousands of small dollar donors and energized supporters and without sharing our strategy with Democrats through the media, we have the message, the operation, and the money to propel President Trump to victory on November 5."
Newsweek has contacted the Georgia RNC for additional comment via email.
The Republican Party has invested millions of dollars in swing states like Georgia in an effort to secure the non-white vote after the party made modest gains among Hispanic voters in 2020.
At the opening of one such center in Georgia, former RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said: "This is not us saying, 'we expect your vote, you owe us your vote. This is us saying, 'we want to earn your vote. We want to learn how we can better represent your community, how we can be here long-term.'"
She has since been replaced by Michael Whatley, who runs the RNC alongside 2024 presidential election candidate Donald Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump.
But efforts to connect with minorities fell flat in the 2022 midterms, with the Republicans failing to make any additional gains among the targeted demographics, according to a report from Equis, a political non-profit that works for the betterment of Lantinx people.
"We are currently evaluating every aspect of political and community engagement in order to align our operations with President Trump's campaign," said Whatley in a statement seen by the New York Times in March on the wider trend of outreach location closures.
"We have seen very positive impacts from our community engagement centers and intend to continue to utilize them to build support for President Trump and Republican candidates across the country," he said.
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