High-Profile Young Republicans Out to Woo Hispanics, Win 2012
Some political observers are calculating that as the Hispanic vote goes, so goes Florida; and as Florida goes, so goes the 2012 presidential election.
Count President Barack Obama among them. This week he visited Miami for a fundraiser, then headed to Puerto Rico for a four-hour visit. Obama is hoping to hold the majority of the vote of the 847,500 Florida residents of Puerto Rican descent, most of whom live in Central Florida. And he looks to make inroads among Florida’s Cuban population that traditionally votes Republican and resides in South Florida.
Republicans also see the Hispanic vote as key to the presidential election.
Jeb Bush Jr., son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, 27, and David Cardenas, son of former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Al Cardenas, 26, are together hoping to be Obama's worst nightmare.
The two young men recently helped launch Florida Hispanic Outreach, or SunPac, a group that attempts to take the GOP's message to Hispanic voters in Florida.
"It's a critical demographic, not only to Florida, but to the rest of the country," Bush said.
The state adds two congressional districts and two electoral votes ahead of the 2012 election, meaning Florida’s 29 votes in the Electoral College could make all the difference in the race to 270 electoral votes that win the presidency.
Those districts were gained partly due to the increase in Florida’s Hispanic population. Hispanics made up 57 percent of the 2.8 million residents Florida added over the last decade, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. Hispanics’ share of the state population rose from 16.8 percent in 2000 to 22.5 percent in 2010.
Conservative principles of family values, lower taxes and less government should appeal to most Hispanics, said Bush, whose mother is Mexican, but the rhetoric of some Republicans pushing for strict immigration enforcement laws can often get in the way of the GOP's overall message.
State Republicans attempted to pass an immigration enforcement bill that would have required state agencies and contractors to use E-Verify, a federal tracking system that is designed to ensure an individual's citizenship or immigration status. The bill drew near-daily protests from religious and Hispanic groups, and was also opposed by powerful business lobbies. It passed in the Senate on the last day of the legislative session, but the House -- which favored a stricter bill that would have included penalties for private businesses that hire illegal workers -- did not take it up.
"When people feel they are targeted, it can be hard to reach them," Bush said.
Yet, immigration enforcement is a policy desperately coveted by the tea party contingent, which makes up a significant and influential part of the Republican Party. The tea party helped usher a wave of Republican victories in the 2010 midterm elections, and candidates in Republican primaries cannot afford to ignore its supporters.
State Senate President Mike Haridopolos, who is running for the U.S. Senate, is already being attacked by his Republican primary opponents for the way he handled the immigration bill. He first gave it to Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, who has Cuban heritage and had deep misgivings about the bill from the start, and then to Sen. J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, a farmer wary of the financial impact of potential penalties for hiring illegal workers. Both senators voted against the bill on the floor.
While the conflict between the tea party and the need to reach Hispanic voters may seem irreconcilable, the GOP may have an answer in the form of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. Rubio swept to victory in 2010 thanks in no small part to tea party support, and he recently co-sponsored a federal E-Verify bill.
Whether Rubio can help deliver the Hispanic vote -- and perhaps Florida with it -- while he pushes for stricter immigration enforcement measures, remains to be seen.
"Hispanics are an important part of our party and it's obvious that they will continue to play an important role in U.S. elections. The Republican Party is committed to including new faces in our party -- building a Republican Party that is more diverse," said Republican National Committee spokesperson Victoria Martinez.
It's unclear how many of the current crop of Republican presidential candidates realize the importance of the Hispanic vote in Florida. The early front-runner, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, came to Florida this week on a three-day swing, including stops in Orlando and Tampa, but with no overt outreach efforts to Hispanics.
Bush says whoever the eventual Republican nominee is -- a dogmatic immigration enforcer or a moderate in favor of reforms -- could make all the difference in the 2012 general election.
"I think it's critical in terms of Republicans being able to beat Obama in 2012. It's absolutely critical, no doubt about it," Bush said.