Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., and Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, started a political action committee to help first-time conservative Latinos win a seat in Congress.
The incumbents hope the move will bring more Latinos into the GOP congressional fold and influence the direction of the party, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.
“I think you are seeing conservative Hispanics more organized than ever before,” Gonzales said during a press conference announcing the launch of The Hispanic Leadership Trust PAC. “The country is falling apart; Democratic policies have failed time and time again. The Hispanic communities have had enough.”
Gonzales said many Hispanics are life-long Democrats who now “feel abandoned by this administration.”
He said the new PAC will raise money and provide mentorship to new Latino candidates to make them the best they can be while talking about conservative policies to voters, helping them win seats across the country.
House GOP Whip Rep. Steve Scalese, R-La., said Republicans can go where they have not gone before and build a more diverse coalition based on conservative values.
“The reaction we are getting is remarkably strong because we see those same values reflected [by the voters],” Scalese said. “When you go into a Hispanic community, when you see these Hispanic candidates that are running, they care about opportunity, and they know it’s under assault by big-government socialism.”
Gonzales said the Democratic Party has taken the Hispanic vote for granted, expecting them to show up at the polls, but then not to hold lawmakers responsible for failed policies.
He said that he went to the “bluest” part of his district, Eagle Pass, Texas, where he spoke to voters that are concerned about a variety of issues, including border security.
“There is a whole lot more about the border than what you see on TV,” Gonzales said. [Addressing] trade, commerce, culture, all of this, and the Republican Party is committed to doing just that.”
Diaz-Balart, co-founder of the PAC, told the Post that the Democratic Party has changed, and will likely see a new reality during November’s midterms.
“I think it’s important that this institution reflect the new reality,” he told the Post. “It’s not that Latinos have changed, it’s just that the Democratic Party first took them for granted, and [Latinos] are now running away from everything they believe.”
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