Yesterday the polling group Public Opinion Strategies (POS) released the results of “a set of special focus groups” conducted with Hispanic voters in Las Vegas, NV, and posted the first of what will be a series of blog posts on its findings.
When the Nevada Latinos were asked what they thought about today’s Republican Party, they responded that current Republicans are “too rich” to really understand the working class realities that define the Hispanic community. One woman’s idea of “Republican” was the mansion where the owners of the meat packing plant that employed her father for just sixty cents an hour lived.
However, the Latinos’ concept of Democrats didn’t fare much better, with the focus groups believing that they lacked backbone and fortitude. The respondents didn’t particularly see Democrats as “putting their foot down” or digging in to “deal with the important issues.”
The Nevada Latinos were aware of Republican efforts to “re-brand” and change themselves in areas where they were weak, such as attracting minority votes. The respondents appreciated the thinking “outside of the box” ideas behind the support of Hispanic politicians like Florida’s Marco Rubio, Nevada’s Brian Sandoval, and New Mexico’s Susana Martinez.
Hispanic surnames weren’t everything, of course. Non-Hispanic Republicans like New Jersey’s Chris Christie and Florida’s Jeb Bush—two GOPers who support immigration reform—also scored high on the focus groups’ radar.
The takeaway from the focus group from Public Opinion Strategies: “Time to find a better way forward. And it is possible.” Of course, one way to do that would be to pass immigration reform. Nevada’s GOP Senator, Dean Heller, should be outspoken in support of a pathway to citizenship–as should the GOP House members: Mark Amodei and Joseph Heck.
The Governor’s voice in support of citizenship would be welcome in the national debate, too.
After the 2012 campaign was defined by Mitt Romney’s support for self-deportation, Hispanics in the last election overwhelmingly voted for Democrats. But that support is by no means locked in.
Nevada Republicans have to be pragmatic and inclusive in their outreach, which means not demonizing immigrants and support immigration reform. The “way forward” will be tested soon. Over the next couple weeks, we’ll see how this plays out as Heller, Amodei and Heck have to take positions on actual legislation. If those Republicans think they can walk away from — or try to thwart–immigration reform, they’re going to spend a lot of time out in the electoral wildnerness.
