ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Republican Party is beefing up its minority outreach nationwide and preparing to put its rising Hispanic stars on the campaign trail amid concerns that tough immigration rhetoric in the presidential primary is taking on an increasingly anti-Hispanic tone.
But immigrant rights groups and some political watchers say the damage may be irreversible. They argue that the GOP has severely hampered itself as it looks to woo the critical Hispanic voting bloc that could decide who wins key states like New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado and Florida next fall.
Mitt Romney “is done,” said DeeDee Blase, founder of Somos Republicans in Arizona. “He’ll be lucky to get 8 percent of the Hispanic vote” after saying he would veto legislation that would create a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants and accepting the endorsement of anti-immigration activist Kris Kobach, architect of two of the strongest immigration crackdown laws in the country.
The GOP front-runner, Mr. Romney has referred to the legislation — called the Dream Act — as a handout. The measure would allow some young illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to earn legal status if they went to college or joined the military. Challengers, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, have also taken tough anti-immigration stances in the campaign.
Language from them has been so sharp that even New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, a Republican, has warned the candidates to watch their tongues.
“What we have to do is this: We have to tone down the rhetoric, and we have to have a sincere, honest conversation with the voters,” Ms. Martinez said Wednesday, shortly after the Republican National Committee announced that it had hired a director of Hispanic outreach and was expanding its Hispanic-focused efforts. She’s among the popular Hispanic politicians Republicans will deploy to battleground states in the coming months.
There’s a reason for the urgent tone coming from Republican leaders on this matter.
The government projects Hispanics will account for roughly 30 percent of the population by 2050, doubling in size and boosting their political power. Overall, Hispanics traditionally tilt Democrat, meaning the Republican Party is looking at a threat to their future power if they don’t work to make inroads with this politically pivotal group now.
Democrats have strengthened their standing with Hispanics in the most recent presidential election years. While much was made during the Democratic primary of 2008 of President Obama’s perceived weakness among Hispanics, he won 67 percent of their vote in the general election to 31 percent for Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona. It was a huge jump from 2004 when Democratic nominee John Kerry won Hispanics by 53 percent to 44 percent for President Bush, a Texan who focused heavily on Hispanics.
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