Florida Gov. Rick Scott and other Republican candidates are looking to distance themselves from President Donald Trump in order to win the support of Hispanic voters, The Washington Post reports.
"In three of the most competitive U.S. Senate races in the country, the only way the Democrat wins is with the Latino vote," Cristóbal Alex, head of Latino Victory Project, a left-leaning group that helps Democratic candidates, told the newspaper. "The other side understands this and is spending millions of dollars to confuse Latino voters and to run away from Donald Trump."
Florida Latinos, according to political science professor Eduardo Gamarra of Florida International University, "think that Trump was disrespectful of them. Scott, despite his close relationship with the president, is a man who has gone to Puerto Rico seven times. He could appear as somebody who is responding directly to their needs."
The GOP is looking to retain three Senate seats, one each in Florida, Arizona and Nevada, as well as 10 House districts, all of which could come down to which candidate has the most Latino support.
"It’s encouraging that candidates and elected officials that are running for re-election don’t disrespect large swaths of their population to win an election," said former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican who is backing Scott and Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., in the midterms. "But not long ago that would have been a given."
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