The Hispanic Leadership Fund wrapped up a very positive election cycle. We are very blessed to have a rapidly growing membership base from across the country of people of all walks who believe in limiting the size and scope of government and increasing opportunity and prosperity for individuals.
The Hispanic Leadership Fund’s primary focus was on candidates endorsed by our PAC, followed closely by other endorsed candidates areas where there are significant numbers of Hispanic voters. While conservative Latino candidates garnered most of our attention, we also selected a couple of non-Latino candidates in races that were of strategic interest.
We had our first TV spot that focused on Joe Garcia, the Democrat candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Florida 25. The ad ran extensively during local news broadcasts on three network-affiliates during the critical final weekend of the campaign. Polls showed that the race was tight going in to the weekend—down to just one point. We were glad to see David win by 11 points on Election Day. Notably, the ad was aimed at the general market with a theme applicable to all voters.
Our PAC Endorsed candidates won 11 races and lost just 2, resulting in an 85% success rate. Our endorsed candidates are listed here, with winners in CAPS:
- Jon Barela – U.S. House of Representatives, NM-01
- FRANCISCO CANSECO – U.S. House of Representatives, TX-23
- MARIO DIAZ-BALART – U.S. House of Representatives, FL-21
- Carly Fiorina – U.S. Senate, CA
- BILL FLORES – U.S. House of Representatives, TX-17
- JAIME HERRERA – U.S. House of Representatives, WA-03
- RAUL LABRADOR – U.S. House of Representatives, ID-01
- SUSANA MARTINEZ – Governor, NM
- STEVE PEARCE – U.S. House of Representatives, NM-02
- DAVID RIVERA – U.S. House of Representatives, FL-25
- ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN – U.S. House of Representatives, FL-18
- MARCO RUBIO – U.S. Senate, FL
- BRIAN SANDOVAL – Governor, NV
Other efforts included delivering a total of 375,000 phone calls to to Latino households about the threat posed to their pursuit of the American Dream by the reckless hard-Left agenda coming from Washington. The recipients were in strategically targeted areas where our experienced political team knew that the impact would be significant.
In terms of media, we did dozens of media interviews—primarily on radio (both English and Spanish) but also for print, online and television. States with heaviest reach included California, Nevada, New Mexico, Florida, Texas, and Illinois. In addition, we placed op-eds in several publications.
All of this was made possible through the support of our members and individuals like you. Now that we turn our attention to the important policy battles ahead rest assured that we will continue to advocate for free enterprise and individual liberty and of course fulfilling our mission of expanding the base if support for policies rooted in these principles. Make sure you join the fight!
