U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney received a cool reception Wednesday when he spoke to African American voters, a group that voted overwhelmingly for President Barack Obama in the 2008 election.

In his Houston, Texas speech to the annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People , Romney said his policies and leadership will help minority families more than President Obama's have.

But audience members booed him when he vowed to eliminate the president's health care reform plan, nicknamed “Obamacare.” He was booed twice more, when he said Mr. Obama has failed to create more jobs during his term in office, and when he promised that he would be the candidate who would “make things better” for the African American community.

Romney used his speech to highlight inequalities still facing African Americans, including a 14.4 percent unemployment rate, which is far above the 8.2 percent national average.

President Obama is not expected to address the convention this year. Vice President Joe Biden will address the convention on Thursday.