MILWAUKEE — On the first night of the Republican National Convention, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina made a prominent appearance by speaking on the main stage.

On Tuesday, he addressed voters at Wisconsin Republican Party’s new “Black Community Center” near Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and North Avenue. Scott’s mission was clear: to attract more Black voters to the Republican Party.

“Sometimes you’re not born in the right neighborhood,” said Scott. “For those folks who grew up like I did, I wanted to find a way to meet the moment and meeting the moment for me was opportunity zones.”

Scott is behind the nationwide, multi-million-dollar effort to get more Black voters to join the Republican Party. “Opportunity Zones” is his initiative to use federal tax incentives to drive private investment in the most underserved neighborhoods.

“To bring resources back into disadvantaged communities economically,” he said.

Gerard Randall, vice chair of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said more Black Americans are turning to the GOP.

“I think people are starting to resonate with the message that the Republican Party is delivering and especially our candidates,” said Randall. “They look back to the four years that Trump was in office and they realize that the economy was much better under his watch, personal safety was much better under his watch.”

Scott’s initiative was part of a broader GOP strategy to gain ground with Black voters, a demographic that had traditionally leaned Democratic. Nationally, former President Donald Trump secured 6% of the Black vote in 2016, increasing to around 8% in 2020, according to data. Randall said he anticipates that in Wisconsin, the GOP’s share of the Black vote could rise to 15% in the next election, with significant support expected from Milwaukee.