Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) launched a multimillion-dollar Spanish advertising campaign as the GOP looks to expand outreach to Hispanic voters.
The $4.4 million campaign will be primarily targeted at Latino voters in Texas, according to Axios. The announcement comes as Cruz makes a reelection bid for a third term in the Senate.
“We are proud to announce our seven-figure investment in the Hispanic community,” Macarena Martinez, a spokeswoman for the Cruz campaign, told the Washington Examiner.
“It has long been said that Hispanics are Republican, they just don’t know it yet, which is why Senator Cruz is committed to ensuring that every Hispanic household hears his message loud and clear,” the spokeswoman said. “This election is about keeping Texas, Texas, and the Hispanic community is integral to making sure that happens in November.”
Hispanics represent a powerful voting bloc in the United States, which is especially crucial in Texas. In Cruz’s home state, Hispanic people outnumber non-Latino white people, while 28% of Texans speak Spanish at home.
Nationwide, the number of eligible Hispanic voters has nearly doubled since 2000. As the voting bloc grows, the politically independent voting bloc appears to be shifting to the right. In the 2012 presidential election, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney took only 27% of the Hispanic vote. Eight years and two presidential cycles later, former President Donald Trump claimed 38% of the Latino vote.
As November approaches, Trump is battling to expand his margin of support with Hispanics. In July, his campaign touted its recent survey showing Vice President Kamala Harris has the support of 43% of Hispanics to 42% for Trump. In 2020, Biden won 59% of the Hispanic vote.
While Hispanics nationwide may be leaning toward a Trump candidacy, Texas Latinos aren’t necessarily rushing toward Republicans across the state. In 2022, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) received approximately 40% of the Latino vote in his gubernatorial race, a slight decline from 42% four years earlier.
The slight decline in Hispanic support is mirrored in Cruz’s Senate races. Pew Research Center stated that during the Republican’s 2018 Senate race against Beto O’Rourke, 35% of Latinos supported Cruz. That’s a narrow drop from Cruz’s initial 2012 bid for the Senate when polling showed that 40% of Hispanics voted for Cruz.
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However, other indicators suggest there remains a trend toward the GOP, even in the Lone Star State. In March, conservative lawmakers launched the Texas Hispanic Republican Caucus, saying its formation “marks a significant development in the Texas legislature, highlighting a newfound cohesion among the Hispanic Republican members across both chambers of the Texas Capitol.”
Texas Hispanics also appear to be enthusiastic about a Trump presidency. In April, polling showed the former president held a 4-point edge with Texas Latinos over the then-presumed Democratic nominee, President Joe Biden.
