Democrats worried about Hispanic vote in Texas

San Antonio Express-News/Washington Post:
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In Texas, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz is trying to fend off Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke, a liberal star who raised an eye-popping $38.1 million in the past three months, making him one of the most successful fundraisers in history.

O'Rourke, who is white, speaks Spanish and has often switched languages during town halls. He has used the traditionally Hispanic nickname Beto for decades, rather than his birth name, Robert.

But Texas has proved to be a challenging place for Democrats to mobilize Hispanic voters. "That is a very hard thing to change in one campaign cycle," said Matt Barreto, a co-founder of the research and polling firm Latino Decisions.

Cruz has long been one of his party's most vocal advocates of a strict immigration policy. Still, a Quinnipiac University poll showed him winning 37 percent of Hispanic voters, a slightly higher share than Trump won in the state in 2016, according to exit polls. Overall, Cruz led O'Rourke by nine points in the survey.

Cruz released a Spanish-language online advertisement Friday featuring his father talking about fleeing Cuba. Republicans, meanwhile, are hoping that GOP Gov. Greg Abbott's standing with Hispanic voters will help. Abbott, whose wife is Hispanic, is a heavy favorite to win reelection. He captured 44 percent of the Latino vote in 2014, and his campaign is aiming to top that this year.

Beyond their share of the vote, Democrats are concerned about total Hispanic turnout in Texas, a conservative state where they will need their most loyal supporters to cast ballots in huge numbers to have a chance of an upset.

"There's still a lot of work to do," said Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, who said he has had long-standing concerns about organizational efforts in the Rio Grande Valley, along the border with Mexico.
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There is a growing number of Hispanic Republicans in Texas some of which have won office as Republicans.  Republican candidates have also done outreach to the Hispanic community and have won elections in Hispanic majority districts.  Gov. Abbott has a significant lead over his Democrat Hispanic opponent.

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