In the
Washington Post. Interesting. Looks as if the Abbott campaign has made some inroads.
Keep it up!Can a Republican win the Hispanic vote in Texas?
Darci Cather, center, holds a sign for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott while watching the Rio Grande Valley gubernatorial debate in Edinburg, Texas, on Sept. 19. The debate was the first of two scheduled before the November election. (Nathan Lambrecht/AP)
By Joshua Partlow October 3 at 9:35 PM
RIO GRANDE CITY, Tex. — Ruben Villarreal knew he was different, and it had nothing to do with his curlicue mustache. The Latino tire-shop owner with the ten-
gallon hat had been mayor of this border town for several years before he dared to discuss his political affiliation. He felt like a “cactus around balloons.â€
“It’s not easy being Republican,†he said, “when everybody’s a Democrat.â€
As long as anyone can remember, the South Texas counties that make up the Rio Grande Valley have been two things: Hispanic and blue-as-the-big-sky Democrat. In Hidalgo County, along the Rio Grande, the locals say a Republican hasn’t won a countywide office in recent memory. Even though Republican governors have led Texas for two decades, their best showing among Hispanic voters was in 1998 with George W. Bush, who didn’t even win half.
But this year, Republican nominee Greg Abbott, the state’s attorney general, has set out to break Bush’s record by making the rapidly growing Hispanic vote — and the Rio Grande Valley — central to his campaign. The day after Abbott announced his candidacy in San Antonio, he was in McAllen, on the Mexican border. He has visited the area 14 times during the campaign, most recently for his first debate with the Democratic candidate, state Sen. Wendy Davis.
He has also aired six Spanish-language TV ads, including one featuring his Latina mother-in-law that premiered during the Mexico-Brazil World Cup match in June. (“His values are our values. Faith, family and honesty,†his sister-in-law Rosie Phalen says in the ad.)
The rest is here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/can-a-republican-win-the-hispanic-vote-in-texas/2014/10/03/4f8cdfcc-6e94-481a-a426-79583ce7bd3d_story.htmlFunny, with a state as big and important as Texas, I haven't heard a thing in the national media about any debates. The only things I've heard about have been from Wendy Davis' campaign, who said that they 'clearly won' the first one. If she
had, we would've heard
all about it in the national media. (I have
no idea how I got onto Davis' emailing list--but it was a short time after I had emailed the Abbott campaign. Maybe they sold the list to the Davis campaign out of pity for them.)
