Scoop: Cruz pours millions into Spanish-language ads
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Sen. Ted Cruz waves at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last week. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is launching a $4.4 million campaign targeting Hispanic voters in Texas — with a majority going to Spanish-language advertising, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: It is the largest investment the Cruz campaign has ever made into Hispanic advertising as the GOP continues to court the country's largest non-white voting bloc.
- The demographic is particularly crucial in Texas, where Latinos now make up a larger share of the population than non-Latino whites and 28% of Texans speak Spanish at home, according to Census data.
Zoom in: The Cruz campaign's $4.4 million investment includes broadcast and digital ads, as well as billboards, text messages and phone calls targeting Hispanic Texans. The effort started this month and will run through Nov. 5.
- Spanish-language broadcast ads will air in 20 different market areas and will be focused on the border, jobs and family values; Bilingual text and phone calling will specifically zero in on the swingy Rio Grande Valley area in South Texas.
- The first such ad adopts the format of a traditional Mexican ballad, called a "corrido."
- "It has long been said that Hispanics are Republican, they just don't know it yet, which is why Senator Cruz is committed to ensuring that every Hispanic household hears his message loud and clear," Cruz campaign spokesperson Macarena Martinez said in a statement.
The other side: Cruz's opponent — Democratic Rep. Colin Allred — has been up with Spanish-language ads since May, a campaign spokesperson told Axios.
Zoom out: Latino voters overall have historically been more aligned with Democrats — though the population has never been monolithic.
- But in recent years, Republicans have been making gains with the population in some areas of the country, including parts of Texas.
- A recent Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll revealed that Latinos lean towards supporting Trump because of the opportunity he brings to rebrand the GOP around "upward mobility."
What to watch: Vice President Kamala Harris, now the presumptive Democratic nominee, has a track record of turning out Latino voters in California, as Axios reported.
- She quickly garnered endorsements from key Latino Democrats like Sen. Alex Padilla (Calif.), U.S. Reps. Joaquin Castro (Texas) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York) as well as BOLD PAC, the political arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
