Libre, part of the political network founded by billionaire businessmen the Koch brothers, on Monday announced a seven-figure voter engagement effort targeting lawmakers who supported what it called President Biden's “punitive economic policies.” and announce an advertising campaign.
The campaign is one of the group's most extensive, featuring digital ads, public events at Hispanic grocery stores and restaurants, and a term conservatives have adopted to attack Mr. Biden's economic policies. These include a new Spanish-language website criticizing “Bidenomics.” .
Despite a flurry of positive economic indicators, including strong job growth and record unemployment rates, the economy remains a stubborn weakness for President Biden and the Democratic Party, especially with Black and Latino voters. Libre's leaders, who reported the plan early to the New York Times, said it would attract Latinos, whom they see as a winning issue for Republicans at a time when the party is trying to increase its appeal to Hispanic voters. He said he is focusing on getting things done.
“Bidenomics is having a devastating impact on Latino families' savings, quality of life, and ability to plan for the future,” Jose Marea, Libre's chief executive officer, said in a statement. “To reverse this trend, it is important that Latino families learn what overspending and overregulation are doing to our nation's economy and prosperity.”
Libre, which describes itself as a center-right group, said it aims to hold to account lawmakers who support policies it believes have led to high inflation and soaring food, utility and other living costs. It has targeted more than 20 Democratic members of Congress in more than a dozen states, including key presidential battleground states such as Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania. The group launched a similar effort last year with an anti-Bidenomics message, but organizers said the campaign would expand in scope.
Latinos are projected to make up about 36.2 million voters, or nearly 15 percent of the U.S. electorate, according to a new analysis from the Pew Research Center. Demographics are crucial in states like Nevada and Arizona, where Hispanic voters make up about one in four voters and will play a crucial role in the race for control of the House. It is expected that.
Although Latino voters overall remain heavily Democratic, former President Donald J. Trump performed better in some voters in 2020, with significant gains in some areas such as South Florida and South Texas. gained support. But some Republicans told The Associated Press they have yet to see Mr. Trump carry out his ambitious plan to win over his district this term. Meanwhile, Biden is further tightening his stance and sharpening his own economic message after previous efforts to reclaim the term “Bidenomics” largely failed.
During a recent tour of Nevada and Arizona, the president brought poverty among Hispanic children to record lows, reduced prescription and health care costs, and tackled gun violence. .
Two Latino voter groups, Somos Botantes and Somos PAC, are also backing Biden with historic investments similar to Libre's. Liberal groups are earmarking $33 million to mobilize Hispanic voters to Biden and other key Democratic races in several battleground states. Somos Botantes plans to spend $24 million to expand nonpartisan voter education programs.
Libre's campaign, titled “BideNOmics,” is targeting Senate Democrats in Montana, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin. The film focuses on members of the House of Representatives who are engaged in heated election campaigns across the country. In California, Democrats and Republicans are embroiled in a battle for seats in the south-central part of the state, with the group targeting U.S. Reps. Josh Harder and Mike Levin. Also on the list are Rep. Gabriel Vazquez of New Mexico and Rep. Yadira Carabeo of Colorado, both of whom won their seats last cycle by defeating their Republican challengers by less than 1 percentage point.
A preview of one of four digital ads scheduled to run on social media, television and audio streaming services features a Latina woman blaming the president's policies for the end of the American dream.
“Coming to America meant an opportunity to chart my future,” she said. “But now, Latino families across the country are being forced to make difficult choices due to rising prices, and Bidennomics is robbing them of their chance at the American Dream.”
A Spanish-language website – NoBidenomics.com – criticizes the Biden administration's policies, saying they have led to inflation, a high national debt and a high cost of living. The campaign's community events, which began last week, are held primarily at Super Mercados (Hispanic grocery stores), where participants hand out food gift cards.