{"id":588688,"date":"2021-07-12T08:50:17","date_gmt":"2021-07-12T12:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=588688"},"modified":"2021-07-12T08:50:35","modified_gmt":"2021-07-12T12:50:35","slug":"the-messenger-matters-latino-republicans-in-congress-reflect-on-gop-gains-with-hispanics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-messenger-matters-latino-republicans-in-congress-reflect-on-gop-gains-with-hispanics\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Messenger Matters\u2019: Latino Republicans In Congress Reflect On GOP Gains With Hispanics"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-messenger-matters-latino-republicans-in-congress-reflect-on-gop-gains-with-hispanics%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=588688&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><ul>\n<li><strong>Multiple Republican Latino members of Congress pointed to the diverse roster of conservative candidates on the ballot in 2020 as a major reason why the GOP made gains with the Hispanic community.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cThe messenger matters,\u201d Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales told the Daily Caller News Foundation. \u201cI think it\u2019s so critical that we have, you know, members that reflect the district.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>While the representatives all spoke of common values Latinos traditionally share with conservatives, such as family, faith and the opportunity to work, two newer issues were said to have made a huge difference in 2020: socialism and crime.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cAbove all things, we value security,\u201d California Rep. Mike Garcia told the DCNF. \u201cI think this is something that, frankly, the Democrat Party has failed to provide.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A diverse roster of conservative candidates on the ballot in 2020 helped produce massive gains with the Hispanic community, multiple congressional Latino Republicans told the Daily Caller News Foundation.<\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe messenger matters,\u201d Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales, who represents a district that\u2019s nearly 70% Hispanic, told the DCNF. \u201cI think it\u2019s so critical that we have, you know, members that reflect the district.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who beat an incumbent Democrat in 2020, agreed. She praised House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy for putting together a \u201chistorically diverse\u201d array of candidates, who were \u201cmore reflective of America, which was always something the Republican Party needed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cYou have messengers that I believe can truly connect with people who, perhaps, were Democrats because the Democratic Party looked like them, but didn\u2019t necessarily hold their ideals,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt ends up becoming something that allows the conservative value message to penetrate a little bit deeper,\u201d California Rep. Mike Garcia said. \u201cWhen younger generations and local families see someone like myself <\/span>and Gonzales representing them and running hard and talking about our values, <span>it does allow them to maybe listen a little bit sooner.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Four freshmen Latino Republicans were elected to the House in November, defeating Democrats who were favored to win, by slim margins, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/latino\/526620-house-hispanic-republicans-welcome-four-new-members\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hill<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span>Garcia beat his Democratic opponent Christy Smith twice in 2020, winning both the special and the general election. He noted that engaging with the Latino community early and establishing trust is crucial to turning out voters for the party, even among those who historically vote Democrat. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cOur job is to make sure that we\u2019re reaching out to them and conveying our message and making sure that they know the candidate as much as anything else,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7230505\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"35\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7230505\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-7230505 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1229606502-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Newly-Elected Members Of Congress Attend Orientation On Capitol Hill\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1229606502-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1229606502-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1229606502-620x413-1.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1229606502-768x512-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1229606502-1536x1024-1.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1229606502-2048x1366-1.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7230505\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Congressman-elect Tony Gonzales (R-TX) and other Representatives-elect arrive at the U.S. Capitol on November 13, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Samuel Corum\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Gonzales offered a similar perspective when talking about how he ran his campaign. While he released ads in Spanish from the beginning of the race, it wasn\u2019t Republican primary voters he was targeting. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI was talking to Democrats, you know, general election voters, and I invested time and energy and effort into that early,\u201d he said. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>From Gonzales\u2019 perspective, t<\/span>he Democrats failed to take the same amount of interest. \u201cIf you only show up once to a community, they\u2019re gonna see you as disingenuous.\u201d <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/06\/24\/flashback-bill-maher-attacks-latinx-pandering-white-politicians\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: FLASHBACK: Bill Maher Attacks The Term \u2018Latinx,\u2019 Says It\u2019s Only Used By \u2018Pandering White Politicians\u2019)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s very transactional. Campaigns, they come and they start 30-60 days before an election, then they\u2019re gone,\u201d Alex Berrios, who left Biden\u2019s campaign after warning of insufficient engagement with Hispanic voters, told the <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/joe-biden-government-and-politics-race-and-ethnicity-d51574afcb7088333f4da0d340f0d428\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span>None of the representatives the DCNF spoke with were surprised that Hispanics gravitated to Republicans in 2020. Florida Rep. Carlos Gimenez, whose district includes a portion of Miami-Dade County, said the only ones shocked were those in the media, who failed to speak to the minority communities they claim to know so well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cYou all live in D.C. or New York or LA and then you wonder, \u2018Gee, I wonder what happened in Miami?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cWell, it wasn\u2019t a big surprise here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>From their own conversations on the ground, Republicans could tell the Democratic Party had moved <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/06\/09\/democrats-elections-2020-hispanics-republicans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">too far to the left<\/a> on the issues Latinos cared most about. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe Democratic Party was really good at selling, you know, their ideals and that they were really watching out for them,\u201d Gimenez said, but Hispanics \u201ccaught on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Crime and socialism<\/h3>\n<p><span>While the representatives all spoke of common values Latinos traditionally share with conservatives, such as family, faith and the <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/04\/02\/data-trump-gained-latino-support\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">opportunity to work<\/a>, two newer issues were said to have made a huge difference in 2020: socialism and <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/06\/29\/violence-police-covid-murder-homocide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">crime<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThey all tell you the same thing: They\u2019ve seen this movie before and it doesn\u2019t end well,\u201d Malliotakis said of socialism, advising young Americans to speak to immigrants who fled similar governments. \u201cThe only equality it leads to is equal misery.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe understand first-hand how socialism only leads to misery, oppression, and exile because we have lived it,\u201d Florida Rep. Mar\u00eda Elvira Salazar said in a statement to the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p>Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who is a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, was named by multiple representatives as a major reason Hispanics have started to distance themselves from the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7232267\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"36\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7232267\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-7232267 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1319088284-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"House Minority Leader McCarthy Holds Weekly Press Conference\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1319088284-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1319088284-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1319088284-620x414-1.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1319088284-768x512-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1319088284-1536x1025-1.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1319088284-2048x1366-1.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7232267\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez speaks as House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy listens during McCarthy\u2019s weekly news conference outside the U.S. Capitol May 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Ocasio-Cortez did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AOC\/status\/1323844716010549252\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tweeted<\/a> on election night that she and others had \u201cbeen sounding the alarm about Dem vulnerabilities w\/ Latinos for a long, long time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhile some of them may be Democrats, they\u2019re not socialists,\u201d Gonzales said regarding Mexican-Americans. He went on to say <\/span><span>many Latinos have family members or loved ones in law enforcement, so when Democrats attack the police \u201cyou\u2019re essentially attacking the family. And there is nothing more important than family to the Hispanic community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cAbove all things, we value security,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cI think this is something that, frankly, the Democrat Party has failed to provide.\u201d <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/07\/01\/married-men-veterans-propel-joe-biden-victory-donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Married Men, Veterans Helped Propel Biden To Victory, Data Show)<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is now investing more than $1 million on 48 organizing directors meant to improve \u201cstrategic outreach and build trust\u201d with minority communities in battleground districts that will be essential in the 2022 midterms, the AP reported.<\/p>\n<p><span>But regardless of trends within the Hispanic community, each representative made clear that Latinos were not a monolith. <\/span><span>\u201cHispanics get all lumped in together, you know, and we\u2019re just different subcultures,\u201d Gonzales said. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>More than one representative <\/span><span>listed off various Latin American countries, passionately pointing out that each was different from the other and should not be grouped together on all things.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cDo we speak the same language? Yes. Do we eat the same food? No,\u201d Gimenez said. \u201cWe think, you know, as individuals. We will act as individuals. And we will vote as individuals.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Multiple Republican Latino members of Congress pointed to the diverse roster of conservative candidates on the ballot in 2020 as a major reason why the GOP made gains with the &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2314462,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1229606502-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"\u2018The Messenger Matters\u2019: Latino Republicans In Congress Reflect On GOP Gains With Hispanics","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-588688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1229606502-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"\u2018The Messenger Matters\u2019: Latino Republicans In Congress Reflect On GOP Gains With Hispanics","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2314462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}