PHILIP MARCELO
Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — The chairman of the Republican National Committee says the GOP has been working to better compete for black and minority votes as it eyes the 2016 presidential race.

Reince Priebus (ryns PREE’-bus) said the party has established a “full-time engagement program” geared toward black, Latino and Asian voters even as he defended his party’s push for stricter voter identification laws that have been unpopular in minority communities.

He spoke Thursday at the National Association of Black Journalists’ annual convention in Boston.

Priebus has served as party chairman since 2011. He said the GOP is also working to diversify its staff, while also acknowledging it must do more at the senior level.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who chairs the Democratic National Committee, will address the convention on Friday.

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