Just days after running his first TV ad, Democrat Tim Kaine is now up with a Spanish-speaking ad campaign aimed at Virginia’s growing Latino population, which could help decide his hotly contested Senate race.
Kaine, who is fluent in Spanish, on Friday released television and radio commercials that touch on his missionary work at a vocational school in Honduras in the 1980s. He also touts his support of immigration reform and his education record as governor, two key issues among Hispanic voters.
“I will never forget my time living in Honduras where I learned more about faith and family. Values I still appreciate today,” Kaine says in Spanish, according to an English translation of the ad. “As governor, I worked with the Hispanic community. I increased the attendance of children in pre-kindergarten. I also increased state contracts given to small businesses.”
The ad strikes a positive tone similar to another ad Kaine released earlier this weak. The ads will air in larger media markets across the state. Kaine has reserved $4.5 million of air time for the fall.
In January, Kaine launched “Latinos for Kaine” to court Virginia’s booming Latino population, particularly in Northern Virginia.
Kaine’s Republican rival, George Allen, also a former governor, said Kaine’s new ad misleads Hispanic voters.
“Tim Kaine is story-telling for the votes of a Latino community disproportionately hit hard by the failed economic policies he championed,” spokeswoman Emily Davis said. “Hispanics have struggled to find work and now over 2 million more live in poverty under the Obama/Kaine tax-and-regulate agenda.”
