New campaign starts with six border candidates, challenging Monica De La Cruz (TX-15), Cassy Garcia (TX-28), Mayra Flores (TX-34), Tony Gonzales (TX-23), Yvette Herrell (NM-02), and Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06) to denounce “replacement” and “invasion” extremism of GOP
Visit new campaign website in English and Spanish at: https://showmeyourfriends.org/
Washington, DC – Today, America’s Voice launched a new bilingual campaign, “Show Me Your Friends,” initially focused on the six Republicans running in battleground districts that run along parts of the U.S./Mexico border, Monica De La Cruz (TX-15), Cassy Garcia (TX-28), Mayra Flores (TX-34), Tony Gonzales (TX-23), Yvette Herrell (NM-02), and Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06).
There’s a wise saying in Spanish, “Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres” – show me your friends and I’ll show you who you are” – that is the inspiration for the campaign.
Watch a new explainer video about the new campaign HERE. Watch individual videos focused on each of the GOP candidates HERE
The Show Me Your Friends campaign seeks to hold these Republican candidates accountable for the reckless extremism many in the GOP have embraced and to educate these candidates’ would-be constituents about the company they keep and refuse to denounce. Republicans’ continued anti-immigrant and border hysteria are an obstacle to needed policy fixes, and many in the GOP refuse to denounce or accept responsibility for helping to mainstream the “invasion” and “white replacement” rhetoric and conspiracy theories that have been cited by white supremacist killers in such places as Buffalo, El Paso and Pittsburgh.
The Show Me Your Friends campaign is asking these candidates to refute, reject and denounce the extremism of those in their party who promote these dangerous lies. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen anything like that from any of the candidates. For example, in an interview recently published in the New York Times, candidate Juan Ciscomani (AZ-6) refused to denounce or disagree with the “invasion” comments and white nationalist sympathies of Arizona Republicans Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar, saying instead, “Their races and their messaging is geared toward their constituency.”
The following is a statement from Mario Carrillo, Texas-based Campaigns Manager for America’s Voice and a spokesperson for the Show Me Your Friends/Dime campaign:
Ahead of November, voters in our community should really know who they’re voting for and if they and their friends have our best interests in mind.
The days of independent-minded Republicans are long gone. That is especially true in the U.S. House of Representatives, where leadership makes the decisions. So a vote for a Republican is a vote for Republican leadership of the House. In fact, the first vote a new member would make is for the Speaker of the House. If Republicans take control, the new members will be supporting leaders who push the “invasion” rhetoric and “replacement” theory.
Besides Yvette Herrell, the initial slate of Republican candidates we are focused on in this campaign have not, to our knowledge, engaged in the same recklessly dangerous rhetoric, but they happily take the support and endorsement of the Republican Party leaders who do. The third-ranking House Republican and a key player in the midterm elections, Elise Stefanik, has endorsed all these candidates and has committed to the deadly conspiracy theory about a migrant “invasion.”
These Republicans should publicly refute these dangerous ideas and their would-be constituents should know about the type of friends they keep and will empower if they get the chance.
Moving forward, the Show Me Your Friends campaign will continue to monitor and highlight the dangerous and xenophobic ads, tweets, and statements from Republican leaders that mirror and echo the vitriol used by violent extremists and to monitor what, if anything, these Republican candidates in Texas have to say about it.
- Visit the campaign website, with content available in both English and Spanish: https://showmeyourfriends.org/
- Watch an explainer video about the campaign HERE
- Watch individual videos highlighting each of the six GOP candidates initially part of the Show Me Your Friends campaign HERE
- See HERE for a social media-focused “Put Them On Blast” feature of the campaign, including shareable video and Twitter content
To read the Spanish version of this article click here.
