DV Journal

According to experts, this year’s presidential and congressional elections will come down to a small group of voters in a handful of states.

And in an election of inches, both political parties will need to win over the support of the youngest and one of the fastest-growing demographics: Latinos.

The big question is, how?

Recently, The LIBRE Initiative compiled a seven-page memo digging into this question, providing both parties with a warning and blueprint for engaging and communicating effectively with Latino voters.

First, it helps to understand Hispanic voters’ demographic and political landscape.

By now, most people know that Latinos comprise a large part of the California, Florida and Texas electorate. Less discussed is how Hispanics constitute a growing share of the population in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin swing states.

Consider Pennsylvania, which narrowly went for President Biden in 2020. According to voter data compiled by Televisa/Univision, close to 200,000 Latinos voted in the 2020 presidential election. Biden won the Keystone State by 80,555 votes.

Another critical state is Wisconsin, where, according to a recent Census survey, nearly 447,000 Latinos live — 180,000 of them eligible to vote. Like in Pennsylvania, Biden narrowly won Wisconsin by almost 20,000 votes.

Finally, there is Michigan, where polling shows a tight race and Latinos constituting a small but growing part of the electorate.

If Republicans want to win, or at least come close to winning the Latino vote, polls show it means zeroing in on jobs and the economy. Despite positive recent economic numbers, many Latinos feel squeezed by inflation, made worse by Latinos not saving enough for retirement and not accessing financial tools that could help them weather unexpected economic storms.

Republicans would do well to remind Latinos that a few years ago, a Republican White House and Republican House of Representatives enacted several pro-growth economic policies that contributed to a historically low Latino unemployment rate punctuated by rising Latino entrepreneurship and homeownership rates.

For Democrats, it means convincing enough Latino voters why they deserve to remain in control of the White House and the Senate. Predicating your re-election strategy by pointing out how terrible the other party’s ideas are is a mighty big gamble with so much on the line.

Instead of spending the bulk of their time criticizing the other side, both political parties should cast a vision for how their policies will genuinely improve the lives of all Americans — including the Latino community.

The Latino electorate, in turn, should demand politicians running for office show how they plan to accomplish anything in a divided government. In other words, are there proposals that could receive bipartisan support?

Latinos are tired of excuses from the political class. We’re exercising our political clout and determined to make our voices heard. Like most Americans, we want to provide for our families, save for a rainy day and invest in the future.

Which party does a better job of casting an aspirational vision where freedom and opportunity flourish may have a receptive audience with the growing Latino electorate — and may have them to thank for their electoral success come November.

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“I am leaving; you took me for granted too long.” These are words you might hear between two people separating in a relationship. In actuality, it is what Hispanics are saying to the Democratic Party. And a more fitting quote would be, “Stop trying to control me.”

Everyone is asking why are so many Hispanics are fleeing the Democratic Party. The answer is simple. Hispanics are conservative. We stand by our faith, we love our families, and we love our country. We are passionate and proud people. We “woke” up to the fact that Democrats are trying to reinvent everything valuable to us.

The next question is, “Is there a Hispanic red wave truly?” We are hearing it straight from their mouth. NRSC Chairman Sen. Rick Scott launched the Hispanic Battleground Survey in 2021. Over 1,200 likely Hispanic voters of all parties revealed that a majority reject Democratic policies regarding socialism, lack of opportunity, voter ID ban, and immigration. They don’t want men in their daughter’s locker rooms. Yet Democrats assume Hispanics are with them. Maybe yesterday, but not today!

Even on a more personal level, as the executive director of the Hispanic Republican Coalition of Pennsylvania (HRCP), I have had the privilege of working with the NRSC Regional Director Josie Hill on this year’s project called Operation Vamos.

I have spoken to several hundred Democrats and they tell me overwhelmingly that they think President Joe Biden is not doing a good job. They are voting Republican. One lady I spoke to was getting her hair braided on her porch. With frustration, she threw her hands in the air and said, “We don’t have any money, gas costs too much. I’m voting for who is going to help me.” These are voters!

According to community leader David Torres, Hispanic voters in Philadelphia are vocal about what they want and don’t want.

“They don’t want more politicians coming into their neighborhoods promising great ideas, asking for their vote, and then leaving until the next election,” he said.

This abandonment is an excellent example of what I meant when I said, “You took me for granted for too long.” Do Democrats still believe Hispanics will vote for them when Philadelphia’s inundation of violent crime makes everyone fear for their lives? Torres also mentioned that “there is no opportunity in city government for Hispanics, but they want our votes.”

We still have diehards like my Abuela (grandmother), who will not switch parties. She would never consider changing her registration from Democrat. She will kick you out of her house if you try to convince her, but she will vote conservative. Slowly, Hispanics are understanding that the Democratic Party isn’t what we remember it to be; it has “progressed” into something that we do not accept.

Before we say goodbye, we have to discuss being called a taco by Dr. Jill Biden. If for no other reason, we have pride. We are more than tacos. I eat rice and beans more than I eat tacos. Now that is the most racist statement coming from a Democrat. Hispanics are ambitious, hard-working, and loyal, and we vote!

Our organization, HRCP, will continue the mission to engage with Hispanic voters across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to register as Republicans. We will strive to make Pennsylvania a Red state again. Our message is simple, “the Republican Party wants what the voters want: higher quality of life and less government. With your support, we are creating the next generation of Republican voters — and we will impact elections from Congress to the governor’s race.”

We have a great team of individuals with experience running campaigns and a political strategist.

If we continue to write these stories, point out real-life issues, and pick up where the Democrats have failed, we will ride this wave to the shorelines of victory. We have a new relationship to embrace.

Vote Republican on Tuesday, November 8.

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Hispanics are the fastest-growing minority in the United States and the GOP has had some success courting their votes.

In Pennsylvania, the Republican National Committee has been expanding its ground game in the Hispanic community. The RNC has an active presence in the Philadelphia area, Reading, and the Lehigh Valley, places where the Latino population has grown.

Last fall, the RNC held a national week of training and Hispanic Heritage month observance in Allentown so volunteers could learn how to register and mobilize voters in those communities ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

“Almost 18 percent of the population in this country is Hispanic, and in the last election cycle 13 percent of the vote were cast by Hispanics,” said Jaime Florez, director of Hispanic communications for the RNC. “So, Hispanics are a very important community and they have very particular links with Republican values and ideas and principles, particularly what has to do with family, what has to do with freedom, with opportunity.”

Christopher Borick

“The GOP has seen some gains among Hispanic voters in recent years in Pennsylvania and elsewhere,” said Christopher Borick, a political science professor and director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion. “There are a variety of factors behind the shift, with views on economics and some social issues playing a role. A solid majority of Hispanic voters still align with the Democrats and that is likely to remain the case in the near future. But if the GOP can cut into the margin, it can have major effects on election outcomes.”

According to a recent PBS/Marist poll, only 33 percent of Hispanics approve of Joe Biden’s performance, while 65 percent disapprove.

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump won 38 percent of Hispanic voters in 2020, a 10-point increase from 2016. And in Reading, Trump received 27 percent of the vote, an 8 percent increase from 2016, which accounted for 80,000 net votes between 2016 and 2020.

Economics might be a reason for the jump.

During the Trump administration, Hispanic Americans experienced record low unemployment. Its unemployment rate hit several record lows in 2019, including falling below 4 percent for the first time in history.

The median Hispanic American income rose by $1,786 during Trump’s first year in office.

“We just want to offer Hispanics the opportunity of being a part of the party that really is their home in this country,” said Florez, an immigrant from Colombia. “So it is important for us, of course. It is important for everyone.”

The Hispanic population is not only the largest minority in the U.S., but it is also growing the fastest, Florez said.

“We’re targeting every Hispanic community in the country,” said Florez. “We’re working in every possible way to reach Hispanics all over the country. We did that in the last election cycle and we’re doing that with a multi-million dollar investment from the Republican National Committee.”

It is using advertising venues such as billboards and social media, he said, as well as other advertising media.

“We’re sending press releases every single day to all the Hispanic media we have on our list,” he said. “And we’re always available for interviews or comments.”

“And we’re doing very well,” said Florez. “Before the election in November we did work with our friends in Virginia and we were able to get some updates published…before the election for governor, a couple of months ago, and we keep doing that everywhere, where ever is necessary.”

“Hispanic voters are very concerned with the turn to the left that we are seeing in this (Biden) government,” he said. “Most Hispanics, including myself, came to this country fleeing those liberal, left-wing ideas that were introduced in some of our countries…Some of those ideas and policies were introduced in those countries. That doesn’t make our countries grow. On the contrary, the economy was destroyed by those ideas and we don’t want that to happen in this country.”

Chris Mundiath

“Sadly, we’re seeing some of the things we came fleeing from, like empty store shelves, and large inflation and the capability of the acquisitive power of our salaries getting smaller and smaller every day…All those things we’re seeing now, Hispanics reject heavily. We came here for freedom. We came here for opportunity. We came here for a chance to make our lives better. We didn’t come here to get anything for free,” said Florez.

Conshohocken resident Chris Mundiath, chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Pennsylvania, agrees with Florez.

“The Hispanic community is generally conservative by culture,” said Mundiath. “We are pro-life, family oriented and, like everyone else, come here because we want to find good paying jobs, start a business, go to college or earn good money through trade school. Democrats believe that by putting Hispanics on welfare we are better off, while Republicans believe that we have the ability to move up on our own accord.”

“Today’s Democratic Party is moving further to the left, are becoming increasingly anti-police, but people don’t leave their dangerous cities in Honduras only to come to a city like Philly for example, to find that the city here is no different than back home, because of someone like Larry Krasner,” said Mundiath. “People don’t leave Argentina to escape high inflation, only to come to the U.S. and find the same thing. And people didn’t leave Cuba to make the U.S. more socialist. We want to live in a free market economy and get where we want to be on our own accord, with minimal interference with our lives from big government.”

Florez said, “So we’re really are very concerned, with what’s happening now. And that’s one of the reasons why Hispanics are moving from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.”

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