With three weeks to go until the primary, Attorney General Bill McCollum is looking to reach out to Hispanic voters in an effort to catch up with health-care executive Rick Scott, front-runner for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.
Hispanic voters have proven crucial to Republican success in recent years with 56 percent of them backing George W. Bushs bid for a second term in 2004. However, in 2008 Democrats, led by Barack Obama, made inroads with Florida Hispanics, carrying that demographic group -- and the state to boot.
Obama carried the Latino vote by sizeable margins in all states with large Latino populations, wrote Mark Hugo Lopez, the associate director of the Pew Hispanic Center, in a report filed just after the 2008 presidential election. His biggest breakthrough came in Florida, where he won 57 percent of the Latino vote in a state where Latinos have historically supported Republican presidential candidates.
Hispanic voters amounted to around 10 percent of the Republican presidential primary in 2008 and helped carry U.S. Sen. John McCain over his rivals.
With Democratic front-runner state CFO Alex Sink neck-and-neck with both Scott and McCollum in the polls, the Republican candidates are looking to connect with Hispanic voters to give them an edge in both the primary and the general election.
Both of the Republican candidates may have a hard time attracting some Hispanic voters because of their positions on immigration. Scott and McCollum have both expressed support for Arizonas tougher measures on illegal immigrants and both candidates have said they want to bring a similar law to Florida. Some Hispanic groups have argued that these measures, some of which were struck down by a federal judge last week, violated civil rights.
The two Republicans held a debate Monday, which was broadcast on Univision 23, a Spanish-language television station in South Florida.
Less than an hour before the debate, McCollum --who is trailing Scott in most of the polls by a substantial margin --unveiled a new group to help him woo Hispanic voters in both the primary and the general elections.
McCollums efforts at Hispanic outreach will be led by former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Al Cardenas and includes three members of Congress -- Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and Mario and Lincoln Diaz-Balart -- as well as Jeb Bush Jr.
It gives me great pleasure to have Al Cardenas leading my campaigns outreach efforts with Floridas Hispanic community, said McCollum. Along with Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Jeb Bush Jr., their leadership will be key to securing victory. They will lead a dedicated team of business leaders and local officials to educate voters on our agenda to create jobs, keep taxes low, diversify our economy and improve the quality of life for all Floridians.
Floridas next governor must have the character, integrity and vision needed to create jobs and put more than 1 million Floridians back to work, said Cardenas. Bill McCollum has the plan Florida needs to spur economic growth and create new jobs. On behalf of Lincoln, Mario, Ileana and Jeb Jr., we are looking forward to a hard-fought victory in August and in the fall.
Cardenas leads a group of more than 70 Hispanic Republicans, mostly from the southern part of the state, including former Miami Mayor Joe Carollo, Rep. Anitere Flores of Miami, Rep. Erik Fresen of Miami, President Julio Fuentes of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Rep. Marcelo Llorente of Miami and Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera of Miami.
Minutes after McCollums campaign announced the formation of the group in a release, they forwarded it again -- this time in Spanish. Even after the debate, the McCollum campaign tried to keep Hispanic support for its candidate on center stage, turning to Lincoln Diaz-Balart, who is retiring from Congress, to offer post-debate analysis.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
