Richard Groves Winston-Salem Journal Officially it was called the âGrowth and Opportunity Project.â Unofficially, among the more cynical sort, it was called an autopsy. It was a clear-eyed 100-page assessment of where the GOP stood in 2012 after having lost the popular vote in yet another presidential election. âRepublicans have lost the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections,â the report intoned. The project recommended, among other things, that the GOP make itself more attractive to younger voters and people of color. âYoung voters are increasingly rolling their eyes at what the Party represents, and many minorities wrongly think that Republicans do not like them or want them in the country. When someone rolls their eyes at us, they are not likely to open their ears to us.â