Republicans say they have finally figured out how to do a Spanish-language political ad.
Abraham Enriquez, founder of a group that focuses on engaging Latinos in politics and supports Republican Hispanics, shared a political ad last week aimed at Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen.
“This is hands down one of the best ads of the cycle, in any language. It nails the way blue-collar Mexican American men talk,” he said on X. “This is the kind of cultural savvy conservatives need to win with Hispanics.”
The ad, paid for by a mysterious 501(c)(4) called Election Freedom Inc., is quick and commanding, with a male voice narrating scenes from the border. In Spanish, it implies that those crossing without proper documentation are cutting in line and getting handouts, contrasted with those already here, working hard to care for their families. It references gender transition surgeries with a faceless hand chopping a carrot.
GOP consultant Mike Madrid, who focuses on the Latino electorate, also responded online to the ad. He told NOTUS: “These guys get it,” adding that it was “better than anything I’ve seen the Democrats do all cycle.”
Democrats, too, concede that Republicans are improving their outreach and that their party needs to pick up its engagement. Jose Solorio, a Nevada Democrat who has helped campaigns target the Latino vote, admitted the ad from Election Freedom Inc. would probably reach voters.
“They’re dialing in, and we’re not. I can’t put it any more simple,” he said of the growing Republican effort to win Latino voters. “If that’s all they see, then how else are they supposed to make a decision? Especially if they’re not contacted by door knocking or phone calls?”
Susie Martinez, executive secretary-treasurer of Nevada AFL-CIO, said she’s also noticed that Republicans’ message, especially on immigration, is showing up in Spanish-language ads. Anecdotally, she said her mom watches Spanish television, and there are more ads from Republicans than from Democrats.
“You keep hearing it and hearing it, and then before you know it, even if it’s a lie or misinformation, people start believing it,” she said. As for Democrats’ counter-message? “I’m not so sure they’re doing the greatest job on that.”
Both parties have invested heavily in Latino voters this cycle. Bloomberg reported that Spanish-language ads are up by more than 700% compared to 2020, with the most acute increase in Nevada. While the state has voted blue since 2008, the margins are close enough to make it a hotly contested battleground. Roughly 20% of Nevada’s electorate is Latino.
This year, with Kamala Harris’ numbers lagging with Latino men, it’s clear Republicans think they can shave off enough support to make a difference. There’s been plenty of concern among GOP operatives that Donald Trump’s rhetoric about Latinos — and particularly Tony Hinchcliffe’s offensive remarks about Puerto Rico at Trump’s New York rally — could hurt these inroads Republicans have made with voters of color. That aside, there are signs that the GOP’s attempts to reach Latino voters are improving.
“When I was there in town, I did see more billboards in Spanish supporting Trump and against Kamala,” Elisa Slider, who chairs the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, said. “That was kind of shocking. I haven’t seen that before, so I definitely think there is more effort right now geared towards the Hispanic community.”
She and others said Republicans haven’t always been great at making a case to Latinos that they should vote for Republicans.
“Republicans just literally, if they did anything, they were just mailing it in, like, send this to Google, translate it,” Madrid said of past GOP ads. “Do what we literally would call a ‘show buy.’ You buy enough to get a press release out of it to show white suburban voters that you’re being quote, unquote a compassionate conservative.”
It’s unclear where the Election Freedom ad is being deployed or what its impact will be. The organization’s YouTube lists four other ads, all aimed at different swing states. The posts don’t have much engagement, but the tweets from Madrid and Enriquez have thousands of views.
What’s more important than the individual ad is that it seems to be a sign Republicans are getting serious about courting Latino voters.
“It’s better than it’s ever been,” Slider said. “I’ve never seen the Republican Party or presidential candidate put this much effort into Hispanic outreach.”
Melinda Ann, the president of Latinos United for Conservative Action, said she’s also seen more engagement from Republicans and said that’s why ads have been getting better.
“There is a huge eye on the Hispanic and Latino community because we are the demographic of Americans that can literally flip swing states,” she said. “They are sitting down with organizations like LUCA, and they’re listening to us because we have been able to sit down, myself and the CEO and founder have been able to sit down with representatives in the Republican Party, and say, you know, you guys have been doing it all wrong, and the Democrats have been winning at this every single time.”
Some Democrats in the state argue that while yes, Republicans have been investing more money in ads targeted to Hispanics, Democrats still have a far better ground game — and a much longer history with the Latino community.
Melissa Morales, the founder and president of Somos Votantes and Somos PAC, an organization that leads Latino voter outreach for Democratic candidates, said one Republican ad that uses colloquial Spanish doesn’t make up for years of disengagement.
“I think that’s giving credit for minimal effort, right? To say, oh, well, it’s the first time they’ve actually done something right, so we should give them credit for it is kind of insane to me,” she said. “What I think people are looking for is more consistency.”
Morales said that while Republicans have invested more this cycle, there are significant peaks and valleys in their prioritization, as opposed to Democrats who invest in reaching Latino voters all cycle. That’s backed up by data from Equis, a firm that researches and polls Latino voters: Nearly all of the spending from Republicans on Spanish-language ads has come in the last two weeks, according to their analysis of Spanish-language ads.
Ted Pappageorge, the secretary-treasurer with the state’s powerful culinary union, said ultimately parties’ ground games will matter more.
“I hope they put all their money in ads,” he said of Republicans. “At the end of the day, what we’re doing cuts through all that.”
The union runs one of the largest GOTV efforts in the state, and says it will knock 900,000 doors by Election Day. About 45% of its membership are immigrants and 54% are Latinx, according to the union.
“It’s door-by-door, name-by-name, person-to-person, face-to-face conversations, and when we get that conversation, yes, those folks that were looking at Trump, we win them back,” he said.
—
Casey Murray is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.