Romney Courting Hispanic Voters

GOP standard bearer Mitt Romney is taking his message on the economy to Hispanic voters in an effort to peel away support from President Barack Obama.

Campaigning in Texas, Romney said Obama’s economic policies has been “particularly hard on Hispanic businesses and Hispanic Americans,” The Washington Post reported.

“Did you know that the rate of unemployment among Hispanic Americans rose last month to 11 percent? And that the people in this country that are poor, living in poverty, one out of three are Hispanic American?” Romney said in an address at Hispanic-owned Southwest Office Systems, according to the Post.

“And among young Hispanic Americans the poverty rate is 30 percent? And Hispanic Americans in . . . large measure have looked to entrepreneurs and innovators and small business to get going, but this has been such an . . . anti-small business, hostile to small business environment that it’s been harder for those businesses to open up their doors and to hire more people.”

The Romney campaign is also directly appealing to Hispanic voters through Spanish-language web ads. For his part, Obama has run television ads directed at Hispanics in Colorado, Nevada, and Florida, the Post reported.

A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Telemundo poll showed Obama with more than a 30 point lead with Latinos over Romney, 61 to 27 percent.

On Wednesday, Romney announced the leadership team of his Hispanic Steering Committee, “Juntos Con Romney.” The release making the announcement also hammered Obama on the economy.

“The Hispanic community has been especially hard-hit by President Obama’s policies,” said former Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez. “Instead of spurring economic growth and creating jobs, President Obama has only expanded government and hurt job-creation. We need a leader who will bring back jobs, help small businesses, and ensure that the American Dream remains for future generations. Mitt Romney has a proven record of creating jobs both in the private sector and as governor. Together with Mitt Romney, we will be able to do what President Obama has failed to do: fix the economy, create jobs, and get our country on the right track again.”

The group is headed by National Chairmen Gutierrez, Former Attorney General of Puerto Rico Jose Fuentes, and Former Administrator of the Small Business Administration Hector Barreto.