Republicans Elevate Diverse Recruits in Bid to Win House Majority

[brooklynite]

New York Times

TUCSON, Ariz. — When Juan Ciscomani first brought his family to his new congressional campaign office in the Catalina foothills, his father asked him: “Do you know where we are?”

This was the same upscale neighborhood where a teenage Juan and his father, who immigrated from Mexico and took a job driving city buses, used to come early in the mornings to wash expensive cars to help make ends meet. Years later, the younger Mr. Ciscomani is one of House Republicans’ top recruits in the country, running to flip a key congressional seat just blocks from where they once worked to scrape by.

“Two blocks away — it dawned on us,” Mr. Ciscomani recalled in an interview. “Then he said his favorite phrase: ‘Only in America.’”

If Republicans win back the House majority in the November elections, it will be because of candidates like Mr. Ciscomani. In the nation’s most competitive congressional districts, Republicans have aggressively recruited people of color with powerful personal stories to tell, betting that compelling candidates, equipped with disciplined messages that focus on kitchen table issues like inflation and public safety, will deliver them control of the House.

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Maybe, but I'd worry about a compelling candidate being taken for a GQP shill

and Democrats should point the finger at that aspect of it, in my view.

[brush]

2. Isn't that Gabby Gifford's former district? After the latest AR-15...

mass killings, voters in Tucson (usually a blue oasis in AZ), could possibly be reminded of the attack on Giffords and the killings and vote against repug candidates.

[LeftInTX]

6. No it is not. It was Jeff Flake's, then David Schweikert's (R)

[brush]

9. If not it borders her former district. I have relatives who live there...

in the Catalina foothills area. And with Mark Kelly up for re-election in Nov., voters will be reminded of the attack on Giffords.

[brooklynite]

3. Ciscomani's top plank is "border security"...

Multi-generational Hispanic families aren't necessarily as supportive of immigration rights as Democrats like to imagine.

[Elessar Zappa]

4. New Mexico has plenty of multi-generation

Hispanic families who support migrant rights. I know, I’ve lived immersed in the culture for 38 years.

[brooklynite]

5. Then we have nothing to worry about...

...however, I'll observe that Trump INCREASED his share of the Hispanic vote in 2020 despite his immigration hostility.

[Elessar Zappa]

8. That's true in most places

but I don’t believe it’s true in NM.

[AZProgressive]

10. Biden told Hispanics that support immigration reform to vote for Trump

[Celerity]

13. video: Joe Biden tells activist, 'You should vote for Trump,' over criticism of Obama deportations

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/11/22/joe-biden-tells-immigration-activist-you-should-vote-trump/4273814002/

Link to tweet

[LeftInTX]

7. Elected Democrats in South Texas (border districts) do not agree

One even switched parties

Veronica Escobar is fairly progressive, but the rest are not.

[BlueLucy]

11. Latinos are pretty conservative.

[LeftInTX]

12. South Texas is small border cities surrounded by ranches.

Voters feel that illegal immigrants bring crime. (And there is truth to that because that's how drugs get in the US)..

They can also be overwhelmed with legal immigration, traffic on bridges, stuff like that...

And there is still the issue of illegal immigrants who come here to work. They sneak across the border, but then they are stuck going through some pretty horrific landscapes and things happen. Many times they die from exposure or engage in petty crime to get by. Rumor has it that some are murdered in Mexico and are dumped here.

Also, lots of people were complaining about Covid coming over. This is a new concern because many people come to the US for day jobs or shopping and go back to Mexico at night. They were a source of Covid in the community.