Ever since Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney lost the Latino vote by 44 percent to President Barack Obama last year, the Republican Party has launched new efforts to reach out to Latino voters.
The GOP’s latest effort came on Monday when the Republican National Committee announced it hired Hispanic state and field directors in seven states: California, Florida, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.
The new staff members will be in charge of developing a grassroots infrastructure and coming up with ways to engage with Latino voters at community events in these seven states. At the same time, they will be in charge of strengthening the GOP’s ties with Hispanic Republicans.
Additionally, the RNC plans to work alongside state parties to ensure there’s “a year-round presence in Latino neighborhoods” in an attempt to improve the Republican Party’s Latino outreach efforts. The RNC also plans to make similar investments in 11 other states by the end of the year.
“We are building a ground game that will allow us to compete for every voter and will outlast any one cycle or campaign,” RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement. “I’m certain with these early and unprecedented investments we can achieve Republican victories up and down the ballot now and for years to come.”
A few Latinos identify with the Republican Party
The new Latino outreach efforts come at a time when the Republican Party is struggling to attract Latino voters, which make up 10 percent of all voters nationwide.
A poll released in September by the Public Religion Research Institute reveals that Latinos are three times more likely to side with the Democratic Party than with the Republican Party.
The poll shows 50 percent of Latinos identify with the Democratic Party, compared to 15 percent who identify with the Republican Party. And 24 percent of Latinos say they are independents.
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