‘Hispanic Communities Have Had Enough’: House GOP Launches New Campaign Arm

House Republican members launched a new campaign arm on Tuesday — the Hispanic Leadership Trust (HLT).

The new organization will “[support] Hispanic and Latino Members and Candidates to Congress who believe in the American Dream – namely freedom, opportunity, and the aspiration for exceptionalism,” according to a press release.

“Why now? Why build this out? One, I mean, the country’s falling apart,” Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales, who will lead the organization with Florida Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, said at a press conference about the HLT. “Democrat policies have failed time and time again. Hispanic communities have had enough.”

“We’re talking life-long Democrats that feel abandoned by this administration,” Gonzales said. “That’s not enough for them to come over to the Republican Party. We have to show up. We have to deliver and we have to offer a different solution.”

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Gonzales said the HLT will focus on raising funds, creating resources for House GOP members, and “[growing] in areas that we need” as well as mentorship.

“This weekend I had the privilege of going down to Weslaco and Harlingen, right, and campaigning with Mayra Flores,” he said. “It was pretty damn hot this weekend. There were a lot of gnats out there, but we were able to canvas. We were able to talk to regular people, everyday people, and we were able to win them over by doing nothing other than showing up.”

“That’s what the Democratic Party is missing,” Gonzales said.

Hispanic and Latino voters have long voted for Democrats, but recent polling and a record number of Hispanic GOP House candidates suggest a potential realignment among the voter base.

“There are more than 103 Hispanic GOP candidates that have already filed to run. That number’s just going to grow.” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said at the press conference. “The Wall Street Journal poll found that Hispanic voters would back a Republican candidate over a Democrat by nine percentage points.”

The Republican National Committee (RNC) opened centers in predominantly Hispanic communities throughout the country last fall, notably in McAllen and San Antonio, Texas, as well as Dora, Florida, in an effort to register more voters.