A nearly four-year focus on Latino voters, capped by a massive Hispanic Heritage Month outreach project that ends this week, could help push the Trump-Pence ticket across the finish line ahead of the Democrats, according to pollsters and election experts.
In the first election where Hispanics are the largest minority, President Trump claims the support of 34% in a new John Zogby Strategies/EMI Research Solutions poll, 6 points more than in 2016, and with Joe Biden’s lackluster bid to woo the 32 million Latino voters, Trump could top George W. Bush’s record 44% in 2004.
“No other group worries Democrats more than American-born Hispanic men, particularly those under the age of 45, who polls show are highly skeptical of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.,” warned the New York Times recently.
And Vanity Fair added, “Republicans have generally taken between 30% and 40% of the Latino vote since the 1970s, reaching a high of 44% for George W. Bush in 2004. If they continue to listen and engage Latinos while Democrats take a back seat, that ceiling could be broken.”
In the last month, capped by last weekend’s 30,000-car Latinos for Trump parade in Miami, largely ignored by the media, the campaign and Republican National Committee stomped the pedal in its outreach effort.
“While Joe Biden is only despacito starting to reach out to Hispanic voters, the Republican National Committee and Trump Victory have long been committed to earning the trust and vote of our community. Through long-standing organizing efforts on the ground in several states, along with targeted voter contact and digital outreach efforts, we are well-positioned to see that outreach translate into votes in November,” J.P. Carroll, the RNCs deputy director of Hispanic Media, told Secrets today.
In addition to Miami, dozens of Latinos for Trump events were held around the country last weekend, including some near Washington. In Culpeper, Virginia, organizers handed out red “Latinos for Trump” T-shirts, and speakers praised the president’s law and order push and efforts to boost the economy.
An estimated 80 people passed through rally in park, week after Telemundo ran an article on Culpeper and the election. https://t.co/GuuX08sRcP
— The Star-Exponent (@CulpeperSE) October 14, 2020
Nationally, the Trump-RNC effort during Hispanic Heritage Month held more than 400 events to boost the Latino vote, which will be critical in battleground states.
The party set up 17 Latino Community Centers to “establish roots,” said an official, in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
It held voter registration and volunteer recruitment events. “There have also been ‘Vamos a Votar’ events that have been a celebration of the right to vote and the power of Latino voters at our Latino Community Centers,” said the official.
The effort has also included Latino debate watch parties, pastor roundtables, school choice workshops, and “Latina Women Wednesday MAGA Meet-Ups.”
Several prominent officials have delivered Spanish messages, and officials said that the campaign has branched out to include Cubans and messaging in Portuguese.
The president, his daughter Ivanka Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and key surrogates have hosted Hispanic events.
Social media has also been an avenue, with key officials addressing Hispanics on video and through the RNC Latinos Twitter account.
And along the way, the president has picked up influential support among key Latinos, such as mixed martial arts fighter Jorge Masvidal, known as the “Gamebred Fighter,” who just endorsed the president this week.
He said, “The Democrats just think that they’re entitled to the Latino vote. They think that we just have to hand it over to them. That’s right. We sure as hell don’t.”
Author : Paul Bedard
Source : Washington Examine : Massive Trump Latino outreach set to deliver record turnout — maybe victory
