距离总统选举还有不到两个月的时间，前副总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)和竞选伙伴参议员卡马拉·哈里斯(Kamala Harris)在竞争激烈的佛罗里达州的拉美裔选民民调中落后。
拉丁裔支持者说，这是因为民主党在争取这一关键人口方面做得不够。
“从许多方面来说，这是对民主党人的一个警钟，包括在战场州，对拉丁裔选民的宣传一直不足，”该国最大的拉丁裔民权和宣传组织UnidosUS的政策和宣传副总裁克拉丽莎·马丁内斯·德·卡斯特罗说。“我认为很多时候，他们不仅被认为是理所当然的，而且即使很少接触，他们也应该站出来支持民主党候选人。我们一直说这是一个失败的策略，我认为我们现在看到了一些这样的情况。”
皮尤研究中心(Pew Research Center)预计，2020年，拉丁美洲人将成为最大的非白人合格选民群体，但最近的民调显示，拜登在佛罗里达州的拉丁美洲社区失去了优势，那里约有310万合格的拉丁美洲选民，来自古巴、多米尼加共和国和委内瑞拉等不同背景和国家。在一个历史上以微弱优势获胜的州，拜登在那里与拉丁裔的吸引力可能意味着佛罗里达州支持特朗普或拜登的区别。
政治广告已经渗透到阳光之州的广播和数字空间，尽管拜登在西班牙语广告上似乎略胜特朗普，但支持者表示，尚不清楚这是否有助于将投票转向他的方向。
2020年9月10日，佛罗里达州多拉尔市，民主党副总统候选人卡马拉·哈里斯(Kamala Harris)在阿马兹餐厅(Amaize)与人们见面。
9月8日公布的NBC News/Marist民调显示，特朗普在该州的拉美裔人中越来越受欢迎，50%的拉美裔人支持总统，超过拜登的46%。7月23日公布的昆尼皮亚克民意调查显示，拜登和特朗普在该州拉丁美洲人中的支持率分别为50%和33%。
支持者说，尽管随着选举的临近，民调会有所波动，但与上次总统选举相比，拜登在佛罗里达州的表现不如拉丁裔。根据出口民调，克林顿在2016年以1%的优势输给了特朗普，但在那里的拉丁裔人中以62%对35%的优势击败了他。
“特朗普可能不需要在亚利桑那州或佛罗里达州赢得压倒性多数的拉丁裔选民，但他需要有竞争力，并试图削弱拜登在这两个地方的领先优势。另一方面，拜登需要达到或最好地达到克林顿获得的支持水平，”马丁内斯·德卡斯特罗说。
民主党战略家和参议员伯尼·桑德斯·查克·罗查的前高级顾问说，拜登竞选团队和民主党超级政治行动委员会之外的人没有花足够的钱用西班牙语接触拉丁美洲人。
拜登竞选团队早在今年3月就开始在全国播放西班牙语广告，但针对拉丁裔选民的更积极的广告活动始于6月，当时竞选团队开始在Univision和Telemundo等西班牙语电台播放广告。
自6月份以来，拜登竞选团队在佛罗里达州的广告上花费了6230万美元，其中约360万美元用于西班牙语电视台。相比之下，特朗普竞选团队在佛罗里达州的电视广告上总共花费了6310万美元。其中，330万美元用于在Univision和Telemundo等西班牙语电视台投放广告。
“外部的民主党超级政治行动委员会已经花了5亿美元与白人选民交谈，而在同一时期，只有500万美元给了拉丁裔超级政治行动委员会，”创建新政治行动委员会的罗查说。“那么，当民主党当权派和捐助者只给只关注白人选民的超级政治行动委员会捐款时，我们为什么要和白人选民处于同一水平呢?”
罗查还表示，拜登竞选团队应该从桑德斯在内华达州初选中的胜利中吸取教训，这在很大程度上归功于拉美裔选民的投票率——该州51%的拉美裔人支持这位佛蒙特州参议员。罗查说，至少在初选前半年，竞选团队在早期投票州的西班牙语交流方面投资了1500万美元。
拜登竞选团队上周在与记者的电话中指出，他们赢得白宫的战略依赖于被称为“拜登联盟”的组织，该组织由年轻人、拉丁美洲人、非裔美国人和妇女组成。
一位了解拜登竞选团队佛罗里达战略的消息人士表示，“在佛罗里达州总统初选之前，它很早就意识到，它不能把西班牙裔社区——无论是信息传递、外联还是联盟建设——视为一块石头。"
据消息人士称，该运动发起了几个“侨民组织团体”，如多米尼加人大会(Dominicanos Con Biden)、委内瑞拉人大会(Venezolanos Con Biden)等，以“有目的地赋予拉丁美洲支持者一定程度的权力和支持”。
为了接触拉丁裔选民，拜登竞选团队在几个关键的战场州播放了双语电视、数字和广播广告。该运动已经聘请了多名拉丁裔州主任和11名拉丁裔投票主任，他们都来自佛罗里达州，同时还经营着每日双语电话银行。
拜登竞选经理珍·欧玛利·迪隆(Jen迪隆)在接受记者采访时说:“因此，无论我们是在谈论我们的拉丁裔参与战略，还是黑人、年轻人、老年人，我们都通过每个渠道进行宣传，为每个受众定制特定的节目。”
但是总统的“拉丁裔支持特朗普”联盟在西班牙语广告中猛烈抨击拜登，试图将他描绘成一个社会主义者。
一个西班牙语广告并列了拜登演讲的摘录，称他“将成为美国历史上最进步的总统之一”，展示了前古巴领导人菲德尔·卡斯特罗、前委内瑞拉总统乌戈·查韦斯和前哥伦比亚总统候选人古斯塔沃·佩德罗自称进步的蒙太奇图像。广告以屏幕上的“progresista=socialista”结束。
共和党策略师安德烈斯·马拉夫(Andres Malave)表示，这种信息一直在拉丁裔选民中引起共鸣，这也是NBC News/Marist民调显示总统在佛罗里达州拉丁裔选民中领先的原因之一。
“我认为，尤其是当你在加州和亚利桑那州有越来越多的尼加拉瓜人时，这一信息肯定会引起共鸣。马拉夫说:“当你看到我们在特朗普总统的政府下取得的成功时，我们的社区意识到了更多政府和政府干预的想法，这些成功使我们真正达到了历史上失业和商业创造创纪录的高度。”
特朗普竞选团队表示，民调显示，总统正在“扩大他的多样化联盟”。
2019年6月25日，佛罗里达州迈阿密希尔顿酒店迈阿密机场和会议中心，副总统迈克·彭斯出席了唐纳德·特朗普为拉美裔总统联盟举行的首次亮相。
“推动这一趋势的重要政策和文化因素往往被简单化的媒体叙事所忽视，这些媒体叙事将西班牙裔选民简化为单一问题选民。“也就是说，我们没有把任何事情视为理所当然，并将努力赢得更多西班牙裔美国人的支持，”西班牙语媒体快速反应主任吉安卡洛·索波(Giancarlo Sopo)在总统连任竞选中说。
NALEO教育基金(NALEO Educational Fund)是一个全国性的非营利和无党派组织，旨在赋予拉丁美洲人参与美国政治进程的权力。该组织的首席执行官阿图罗·巴尔加斯(Arturo Vargas)同意，总统针对其对手的一些信息可能会触动社会主义和共产主义可能等同于政治迫害和经济冲突的国家的后代的神经。
“对某一代古巴裔美国人来说，对古巴采取反共产主义或反社会主义的强硬政策会引起共鸣。我认为，对于生活在佛罗里达州和该州其他地方的其他流亡者，无论他们来自委内瑞拉还是尼加拉瓜，这些信息也会引起共鸣，”他说。“我认为特朗普可以在这方面培养一部分选民，拜登必须解释他的立场。”
在这方面，拜登竞选团队一直在努力。一则广告似乎是针对在波多黎各说唱歌手坏兔子的帮助下支持总统的拉丁裔人。他的歌曲“Pero Ya No”的意思是“但不再是了”，播放了特朗普集会的图像，这些图像截取了玛丽亚飓风后波多黎各被拘留的移民和总统扔纸巾的镜头。
2020年1月16日，佛罗里达州基西米的佛罗里达收费公路上，一个由佛罗里达州民主党付费的电子广告牌上写着“永远不要忘记”(西班牙语)，显示唐纳德·特朗普总统扔了一卷纸巾。2017年10月玛丽亚飓风过后，特朗普总统向波多黎各等待援助的人群扔了一卷纸巾。
哈里斯上周在迈阿密参加了一个与拉丁裔企业主的虚拟圆桌会议，这是该运动最新倡议“新未来”(Nuestros Negocios，Nuestro Futuro)的一部分，该倡议侧重于提升拉丁裔企业家精神，鼓励企业主动员社区选民。
在本周对佛罗里达州的访问中，参议员还对总部设在迈阿密的大学站发表了讲话，并对总统的一些指控进行了回击。
“我为自己说话，也为乔·拜登说话。我们不是社会主义者。我们相信保护自由。我们相信保护自由。哈里斯说:“我们相信保护民主和为人民的权利而战，这样他们就可以生活在一个不怕政府的地方。”。
Biden struggling to gain support of Latinos in key battleground state of Florida
With the presidential election less than two months away, former Vice President Joe Biden and running mate Sen. Kamala Harris are lagging in polls of Latino voters in the battleground state of Florida.
Latino advocates say that's because the Democratic party isn’t doing enough to court this key demographic.
"In many ways this is a wakeup call for Democrats, there has been consistently under-outreach to Latino voters including in battleground states," said Clarissa Martinez de Castro, deputy vice president of policy and advocacy at UnidosUS, the country’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization. "I think many times not only are they taken for granted, but they’re expected to come out and support Democratic candidates even if there’s very little outreach. We keep saying that’s a failing strategy and I think we’re seeing some of that right now."
The Pew Research Center projects that Latinos will be the largest group of non-white eligible voters in 2020, but recent polling shows Biden losing ground with Latino communities in Florida, where there are approximately 3.1 million eligible Latino voters from diverse backgrounds and countries like Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. In a state that’s historically won by thin margins, Biden’s pull with Latinos there could mean the difference between Florida going for Trump or Biden.
Political ads have saturated the airwaves and digital spaces in the Sunshine State, and although Biden seems to be slightly outspending Trump in Spanish-language ads, advocates say it’s unclear if that’s working to sway the vote in his direction.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris meets with people at Amaize restaurant, Sept. 10, 2020, in Doral, Fla.
An NBC News/Marist poll, released on Sept. 8 is the latest to show Trump gaining ground with Latinos in the state, with 50% of Latinos showing support for the president over Biden’s 46%. A Quinnipiac poll released on July 23 showed Biden with 50% and Trump at 33% percent of support among Latinos in the state.
Advocates say that although polls can fluctuate as the election nears, when compared with the last presidential election, Biden is underperforming with Latinos in Florida. Clinton lost Florida to Trump by 1% in 2016 but defeated him among Latinos there 62% to 35%, according to exit polls.
"Trump may not need to win an overwhelming majority of Latino voters in Arizona or Florida, but he needs to be competitive and try to diminish the Biden lead in those two places. The flip side of that is that Biden needs to match or probably best the level of support that Clinton achieved," said Martinez de Castro.
Democratic strategist and former senior adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders Chuck Rocha says the Biden campaign and outside Democratic Super PACs are not spending enough money to reach Latinos in Spanish.
The Biden campaign started airing Spanish-language ads across the country as early as March this year, but a more aggressive ad campaign targeting Latino voters began in June, when the campaign started airing ads on Spanish-language stations like Univision and Telemundo.
Since June, the Biden campaign has spent $62.3 million on ads in Florida with roughly $3.6 million going to Spanish-language stations. In comparison, the Trump campaign has spent a total of $63.1 million on television ads in Florida. Of that, $3.3 million has gone to running ads on Spanish-language stations like Univision and Telemundo.
"The outside Democratic super PACs have spent $500 million talking to white voters and over that same time period, there’s only been $5 million given to Latino super PACs," said Rocha who founded Nuestro PAC. "So why would we be performing at the same level as white voters when the Democratic establishment and donors are only giving money to Super PACs that are only focused on white voters?"
Rocha also says the Biden campaign should take a cue from Sanders’ victory in the Nevada primary, which was largely credited for the turnout of Latino voters -- 51% of Latinos in the state supported the Vermont senator. Rocha says the campaign invested $15 million in Spanish communication throughout the early voting states at least half a year before the primaries.
On a call with reporters last week, the Biden campaign noted that its strategy to win the White House relied on what was described as the "Biden Coalition" which consists of young people, Latinos, African Americans and women.
A source with knowledge of the Biden campaign’s Florida strategy says it "‘realized very early on before the Florida presidential primary that it can’t treat the Hispanic community -- whether it’s messaging, whether it’s outreach, whether it’s coalition-building -- as a monolith."
The campaign has launched several "diaspora organizing groups" such as Dominicanos Con Biden, Venezolanos Con Biden and others to "purposefully give a degree of empowerment and buy-in to Latino supporters," according to the source.
To reach Latino voters, the Biden campaign has run bilingual TV, digital and radio ads in several key battleground states. The campaign has hired multiple Latino state directors and 11 Latino vote directors -- all from Florida -- while also running daily bilingual phone banks.
"So, whether we're talking about our Latino engagement strategy, Black American, young, senior we have across every channel that we communicate as a campaign, customized specific programming to each of these audiences," said Biden Campaign Manager Jen O’Malley Dillion on a call with reporters.
But the president’s "Latinos for Trump" coalition has lobbed attacks against Biden in Spanish-Language ads that try to paint him as a socialist.
One Spanish-language ad juxtaposes excerpts from a Biden speech saying he’s "going to go down as one of the most progressive presidents in American history, showing a montage of images of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and former Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro claiming to be progressive. The ad ends with the words "progresista=socialista" on the screen.
Republican strategist Andres Malave says that messaging has been resonating with Latino voters and is one of the reasons the NBC News/Marist poll shows the president with a lead among Latinos in Florida.
"I think when you have growing communities in California and Arizona of Nicaraguans, in particular, that message certainly resonates. The idea of more government and the intrusion of government is something that our community is mindful of when you look at the success we’ve had under a President Trump administration that has allowed us to really reach heights that historically have been record-breaking in unemployment and business creation," Malave said.
The Trump campaign says the polls show the president is "growing his diverse coalition."
Vice President Mike Pence attends a Donald J. Trump for President Latino Coalition Rollout at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Miami Airport & Convention Center on June 25, 2019, in Miami, Fla.
"There are important policy and cultural factors driving this trend that are often missed by simplistic media narratives that reduce Hispanics to single-issue voters. That said, we are taking nothing for granted and will be working hard to earn the support of even more Hispanic Americans," said Giancarlo Sopo, director of Rapid Response for Spanish-language Media for the president's reelection campaign.
Arturo Vargas, CEO of NALEO Educational Fund, a national nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that empowers Latinos to participate in the American political process, agrees that some of the president’s messaging against his opponent may strike a nerve with descendants of countries where socialism and communism may equate with political persecution and economic strife.
"For a certain generation of Cuban-Americans, having a strong policy with regard to Cuba that is anti-communist or anti-socialist resonates. I would think that with some other exiles who are living in Florida and other parts of the state whether they're from Venezuela and Nicaragua, those messages will resonate as well," he said. "This is certainly one where I think Trump can cultivate a portion of the electorate, and where Biden's going to have to explain what his position is."
On that front, the Biden campaign has been trying. One ad appears to target Latinos who are supporters of the president with the help of Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny. His song "Pero Ya No", which means "but not anymore" plays over images from Trump rallies that cut to footage of migrants in detention and the president throwing paper towels in Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane María.
An electronic billboard ad paid for by the Florida Democratic Party reading "Never Forget" (in Spanish) and showing President Donald Trump throwing a roll of paper towels is seen along the Florida Turnpike in Kissimmee, Fla. on Jan. 16, 2020. President Trump threw a roll of paper towels to a crowd awaiting aid in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in October of 2017.
Harris joined a virtual roundtable with Latino business owners in Miami last week as part of the campaign's latest initiative "Nuestros Negocios, Nuestro Futuro," which focused on uplifting Latino entrepreneurship and encouraging business owners to mobilize voters in their community.
In a visit to Florida this week, the senator also spoke to Miami-based Univision station and hit back at some of the president’s accusations.
"I speak for myself and I speak for Joe Biden. We are not socialists. And we believe in protecting freedom. We believe in protecting liberty. We believe in protecting democracy and fighting for the rights of people, so that they can live in a place where they will not be fearful of their government," Harris said.
