The Hispanic vote and three Republican presidents
To the editor:
Ronald Reagan often said “Hispanics are conservative. They just don’t know it.”
Reagan viewed Hispanic values as closely related to conservative values, as both tended to place emphasis on religious faith, family, and hard work.
He also saw that both groups maintain strong opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.
Reagan understood that the Hispanic vote was up for grabs. He increased the Republican share of the Hispanic vote from 24% in 1976 to 37% in 1980 when he was elected.
George Bush was also able to connect to Hispanic voters. As the governor of Texas, he had a large Hispanic constituency. George Bush could credibly claim a connection with the Latino community. Campaigning for President he often used a few words in Spanish to cement his connection with Latino voters. He was successful in courting Hispanic Evangelicals.
He obtained 44% of the Hispanic vote in his 2004 reelection. Hispanic Evangelicals helped Bush win the election. They increased their share of the vote from 25% in 2000 to 32% in 2004.
Trump strategy for attracting Hispanic votes is not grounded on the Reagan-Busch presidential history.
Rest assured that saying that Hispanic immigrants “poison the blood of our country” and promising to terminate DACA or to deport millions of undocumented immigrants is not going to help him gain a large share of the Hispanic vote.
Sigfredo Hernandez
Bonita Springs