Sen. Rand Paul said Sunday the GOP’s major opportunity to win votes lies with African-Americans in urban areas who feel they’ve been taken for granted.

During his inaugural term in the Senate, Paul has spoken to the University of California, Berkeley, the Urban League and the NAACP among others, in an effort to connect with the communities on a consistent basis. Paul noted to “Meet The Press” host Chuck Todd that many African Americans have told him Democrats and their individual congressman have taken them for granted, and want Republicans to vie for their vote.

Chuck Todd: A lot of Democrats would say House Republicans, you know, and Ted Cruz, some other people were responsible for the government shutdown so that both parties lay the blame here. I want to ask you something about what you said the other day in Michigan. you said: “Remember Dominos pizza? They admitted, our pizza crust sucks. The Republican Party brand sucks,” you said, “and so people don’t want to be a republican and for 80 years african-americans have had nothing to do with Republicans. Why? because a perception. The problem is the perception is no one in the Republican Party cares.”

You are admitting you have a brand problem. how do you fix the brand problem before 2016, if that’s the case?

Rand Paul: I think you have to show up and then you have to say something. I’ve spent the last year showing up, everywhere from Howard University to Berkeley to the Urban League to Ferguson, to the NAACP. But showing up is not enough. We have to show that we have a policy. You know what I’m sensing when I’m showing up in the African-American community in our big cities? I’m sensing — they say this to me time after time, we are being taken for granted. The Democrats don’t show up, haven’t seen my congressman lately. I think there’s a huge opportunity for us. While not everybody is ready to become a Republican, many people say they are glad I’m there and they want us to compete for their vote.