State Republican leaders said they do not think online racist jokes by party activists will have a long-term impact on the party's ability to attract black voters and candidates. But political experts and Democrats disagree.

Twice this week Republican activists have apologized for racist humor.

Wednesday, flanked by members of the NAACP, Columbia GOP activist Rusty DePass apologized for the Facebook remark that likened first lady Michelle Obama's ancestors to an escaped Riverbanks Zoo gorilla. On Tuesday, Mike Green, an employee with Lexington GOP consulting firm Starboard Communications apologized for an online joke about President Barack Obama taxing aspirin "because it's white and it works."