TAMPA, Fla. – Mitt Romney can win over Hispanic voters because they, more than any other Americans, are suffering under President Barack Obama’s “failed policies,” Rep. Francisco “Quico” Canseco told Newsmax.TV in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.
Speaking at the sidelines of the Republican National Convention, Canseco said Romney has to do just one thing to appeal to Hispanic voters:
“Point out the fact that the Hispanic community has been hurt more than any other community in this country by Obama’s failed policies; by his failed health care policies, by his failed economic policies, by his growth of government, and by his restrictive ideas and how he wants to govern this country,” the Texas Republican said.
Watch the exclusive video here.
The San Antonio congressman, whose district is 70 percent Hispanic, said Hispanic voters share the same concerns as other Americans.
“The Hispanic population has an unemployment rate of 11 percent; people that can’t get jobs, people that see their Medicare being raided by Obamacare,” he said.
Obama has also offended Hispanic voters, a largely Catholic group, by endorsing gay marriage and by trampling on religious freedoms, Canseco said. He was alluding to the administration’s rule that religious institutions provide health insurance for their employees that covers contraceptive services.
“He wants to make sure that religious bodies, religious institutions, abandon their tenants in favor of what Obama has to offer. That is anathema to Catholics and to all religious denominations, whether Baptist or evangelical or otherwise,” Canseco told Newsmax.TV.
The congressman also talked about his belief that airport security should be privatized. Canseco had run-ins with TSA agents in two separate incidents in April when he was singled out for a pat-down and extra scrutiny at San Antonio International Airport.
“We need to use a lot more common sense in how we’re going to keep our air travelers safe and our airways safe,” he said.
Passengers have to arrive at the airport several hours ahead of their flights in order to get through security, and then “you’re almost humiliated by people that are not officers,” Canseco said.
“What we’ve got right now is a system that’s very costly, very wasteful, and at the same time very, very intrusive when you see grandmoms and granddads out there being frisked, when it’s obvious that they don’t need that kind of concentrated frisking,” he added.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.