“The Hispanic community felt kind of in the middle, ignored,” Ciscomani said. Democrats took them for granted, he noted, while Republicans often didn’t see them as compelling voters.
“I certainly won’t do either,” he continued. “I spoke to them yesterday in Spanish in my acceptance victory speech – a good portion of it was spent in Spanish letting our community know that we are going to reach out.”
Overall, GOP recruiters are working to build a broad slate of Latino candidates who will be well-positioned to both win over Hispanic voters increasingly disillusioned with the Biden administration and also offer a unique perspective on the political issues once in power.
“I went through the immigration process. My career has been about trade and cross-border trade, and border security is my number 1 issue,” Ciscomani said. “That’s what I’m taking to Washington in November.”
Besides Ciscomani, there are a slew of potential new members who could topple seats held by Democrats this fall.
The roster includes Monica De La Cruz and Cassy Garcia, who are running for two highly competitive South Texas districts; Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a former mayor running for a vacant seat in western Oregon; Yesli Vega, a Prince William County supervisor opposed to Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.); and Michelle Garcia Holmes and Alexis Martinez Johnson, who are challenging two Democratic incumbents in New Mexico.
Congressional Republicans have long had a Latin American presence in South Florida, where Cuban-American voters have elected Cuban-American Republicans to Congress. But this year’s recruits span almost every region of the country and range from Brazilian to Mexican to Guatemalan backgrounds.
And the party already had early success in June, when Republican Rep. Mayra Flores won an upset special election victory in South Texas, ending nearly a century of unbroken Democratic control of the region. Her victory offered both a model and an inspiration for other Latino candidates.
“I remember having on my first sign, it said, ‘Family First,'” recalls Martinez Johnson, worried that some people in his New Mexico district might find the slogan unprofessional. “But then I saw Mayra Flores and she had it right there: Familia. Homeland.
“It spoke to who she was and it spoke to the community.”
The first signs of momentum appeared in 2020, when Latino candidates from Miami and West Texas made a Trump-fueled push in Congress. Representatives. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) all won seats that swung sharply to the right between 2016 and 2020.
Building on that momentum, House Republicans in May formed the Hispanic Leadership Trust, a PAC dedicated to electing more conservative Latino candidates. Led by representatives. Mario Diaz Balart (R-Fla.) And Gonzales, the group aims to help mentor, recruit and fundraise for candidates across the country.
He has the full support of leaders, including the House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
“It’s not just talk, you’re seeing action,” said Gonzales, who traveled to Arizona this month to campaign for Ciscomani and Tanya Wheeless, a Latina candidate running in suburban Phoenix in a primary where the votes are still being counted.
“It’s always been, from both parties, they always show up two weeks before the election, say a little broken Spanish, then get on the train and drive out of town,” he said. “It’s very different. We are the ones who show up early, we show up often, are authentic.
There are currently only a dozen Hispanic Republicans in the House, compared to about 30 Democrats.
Almost all current members of the Hispanic GOP are running again. And while a few will have tough races, the main representative. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) staked his as-yet-unconvened primary was a huge relief for his colleagues.
Some of the Latino candidates running for battle this year will have an easier path to Congress than others. Ciscomani, for example, shows up in a neighborhood that’s a real tossup.
Others, like women in New Mexico, have longer odds of winning seats than President Joe Biden easily won. They also challenge incumbents who have a lot more campaign money to spend. Some GOP strategists, however, remain optimistic about Martinez Johnson’s district in northern New Mexico because it has been redesigned to include the state’s oil and gas industry and she is challenging the Democratic representative. Therese Leger Fernandezsupporter of a Green New Deal.
Martinez Johnson, an environmental engineer by trade, tries to take a middle ground: “Either you’re pro-oil and gas or you’re all about sustainability. And in reality, we have to merge the two,” she said.
Agents are feeling increasingly positive about an open seat in Oregon where the GOP nominee is Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Happy Valley’s first Latina and female mayor.
In an interview, Chavez-DeRemer said she considers her ability to connect with Hispanics an asset in the race. Oregon’s Hispanic population is relatively small, but among the fastest growing demographics, she said.
Party leaders encouraged her to run and helped her connect with other Latino candidates. She said she stays in touch with the women running in South Texas: “We text each other, everyone stays in touch so we can motivate each other.”
After 2020, she said it was clear the GOP viewed her background and life experience as something desperately needed in their ranks.
“That balance of one woman, one Hispanic woman, one conservative, one business owner, one mayor, one mother, all of that seems to be where the party was heading in that tent. diversity,” said Chavez-DeRemer. “And we’ve seen this last cycle, and now we’re going to make this worse and add to it.”
A few other Hispanic and Latino Republicans could score primary victories in August and September, including George Logan, a former state senator challenging Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.); Anna Paulina Luna, a Trump-backed veteran running for an open seat in Florida; and George Santos, the son of Brazilian immigrants who is running for a vacant seat on Long Island.
Democrats, particularly in South Texas, have long warned their party needs to step up its outreach to Latino voters, especially after Flores’ victory in the June special election. The Democratic Party is giving the GOP crucial breakthroughs by taking Hispanic voters for granted, they said.
Several Latino Republican candidates running this election year have said they or their family members were Democrats before the party drifted left. Recruiters say the increase in the number of Latino candidates is a consequence of this movement.
“We’re putting forward candidates who not only look and sound like the district, but are focused on the issues that matter most to them,” Rep. Tom Emmer, the chairman of the House GOP campaign arm. “They believe in family, faith and freedom, and the opportunities this country offers. And they see our colleagues across the aisle killing the American dream.
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