Latinos Aiming for the Presidency
It remains to be seen if Hispanic voters will also make history with their participation
This election season presents us with a very real chance that a Latino may become a presidential candidate for one of the two political parties. Along with Donald Trump, Republican senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are among the favorites to win the nomination. They have the financial resources, a conservative message and a religious plea that resonate with a frustrated sector in their Party’s base.
Cruz and Rubio were elected in Texas and Florida, respectively, thanks to the insurgent vote of the Tea Party, defeating establishment candidates and reaching the Senate, a legislative body known for its members’ presidential ambitions. For both lawmakers, Congress is a springboard to the White House. They demonstrated this when they went on to try for the Presidency without even seeking reelection.
The fact that there are two Hispanic presidential candidates speaks well of the Republican Party and its voters, who do not care about the ethnic origin of its senators ‒ now presidential candidates ‒ as long as they are in line with their philosophy.
Some are uncomfortable with their Cuban origins, as if they were not Latino or Hispanic. Others question that their ideas go against the interests of the Latino community and say that they should not be considered Latino. Having Cruz and Rubio competing to see who is tougher on undocumented immigrants does not make them any less Hispanic, even though their positions make them fall out of favor with most people in the community.
This is the old discussion of whether Latinos have conservative values ‒ such as opposing abortion ‒ or if they lean towards liberal values that support a welfare state. When the time to vote arrives, most Latino voters feel closer to the Democratic economic and social policy and leave Republicans with the goal of at least gaining a portion of the Hispanic vote.
It is inevitable to compare the presence of two Republican Latino candidates in this election with the Democrat side, where the closest thing is the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s petition to bring in Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro as running mate for whoever wins the Party’s nomination.
It remains to be seen what the role of the Latino voter will be in this new presidential election. As for candidates, history has already been made.
