Sinking in the polls at the national level and in upcoming primary states, Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich looked to appeal to Hispanics as he launched a new ad Friday targeting those voters in Arizona's Feb. 28 primary.
In the ad, four Hispanics attack President Barack Obama on a host of issues, including the economy and immigration, and praise Gingrich.
The Gingrich campaign insisted Friday that their candidate would be able to win Hispanic voters from Obama in November. They pointed to his record in Congress as well as his outreach, including a campaign website in Spanish. The Gingrich team also noted that their candidate had helped build The Americano, a news website unveiled in 2009 that targets a Hispanic audience.
"For Newt, Hispanic inclusion has been front and center in his campaign since day one," said Sylvia Garcia who is in charge of Hispanic outreach in the Gingrich campaign. "He understands that, just as all Americans, Latinos are greatly suffering from the high unemployment rate and empty promises of this administration. They demand a change and know the only candidate that can rebuild the America they love is Newt Gingrich."
"Few people understand the true Hispanic market like Newt does," added Lionel Sosa, a senior adviser to the Gingrich campaign. "He gets Latinos and understands the diversity in language, age and culture. Yet, one thing is very clear to Newt: Latinos are people of values. They are Americans who strongly believe in family, in religion, in hard work, and in right to life.
Seldom do presidential candidates invest time in understanding our community. Rather, they speak in platitudes that are not based on direct experiences or contact with the great and rich diversity in the Latino culture and community, Sosa insisted.
While Gingrich prevailed in the South Carolina primary last month, he lost to Mitt Romney in the Florida primary on Jan. 31. Gingrich ran strong in the northern part of the Sunshine State but Romney crushed him in the southern part of the state, including areas like Miami-Dade which have a large Hispanic population.
Two polls released this week show Gingrich is trailing badly in Arizona. A poll from Rasmussen Reports, released on Friday, finds Romney leads his rivals in the Grand Canyon State.
Romney tops the poll of likely Republican primary voters with 39 percent, with Rick Santorum in second place with 31 percent. Gingrich places a distant third with 15 percent, while Ron Paul lags in single digits. Three percent back other candidates, while 5 percent are undecided.
The survey of 750 likely Arizona Republican primary voters was taken Feb. 16 and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.
An American Research Group poll of Arizona, released on Wednesday, finds Romney leading in the Grand Canyon State, taking 38 percent. Santorum is in second with 31 percent, followed by Gingrich with 15 percent and Paul with 11 percent.
An ARG poll taken Jan. 25-26 of Arizona found Romney and Gingrich tied with 32 percent each, Paul in third with 12 percent and Santorum with 10 percent.
The ARG poll released Wednesday of 600 likely Arizona Republican primary voters was taken Feb. 13-14 and had a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
