YANKTON - Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleisher (FLY'-shur) is the featured speaker Sunday night in Dakota Dunes at a dinner for the Great Plains Chapter of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Fleisher was press secretary to George W. Bush from January 2001 to July 2003. Fleisher, who is Jewish, says the Bush White House was welcoming and open-minded.

He says most Jewish voters are identified with the Democratic Party but that Republicans can make a big impact on elections if they can win over more Jewish voters. According to Fleisher, the percentage of Jewish voters supporting the GOP rose from 11 percent in George H.W. Bush's election to 25 percent for George W. Bush's re-election in 2004.

As for the next election cycle, Fleisher says no one knows who the next Republican nominee will be. He calls it a "buyer's market" for GOP primary voters.

Information from: WNAX-AM, http://www.wnax.com