RNC launches Spanish vote-banking initiative amid battle for Hispanic vote

The day of the Republican National Committee’s second primary debate, which is being broadcast in partnership with Univision, the party announced the rollout of a Spanish version of its early voting initiative.

Titled Deposita Tu Voto, the RNC’s effort is targeted at Hispanic Americans and is a buildout of the “Bank Your Vote” campaign it touted in several states. Like “Bank Your Vote,” the nationwide campaign seeks to increase early voting for Republicans and independents but within the Hispanic community.

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The rollout notably comes during Hispanic Heritage Month.

“Deposita Tu Voto is just the latest example of the RNC’s commitment to Hispanic voter outreach. This Hispanic Heritage Month, the Republican Party is not only celebrating the contributions Hispanic Americans have made to our great country, but we’re doubling down on our investment in growing our Party by engaging with Hispanic voters on why, where, and how to vote Early,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said.

The announcement also featured a Spanish video with McDaniel and Reps. Monica De La Cruz (R-TX), David Valadao (R-CA), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), and Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon. In the two-minute video, the Republicans urge Hispanics to vote Republican in 2024.

According to the RNC, the Spanish push will have the full weight of the party’s resources behind it. The campaign has the power of a statewide volunteer network and RNC staffing and also boasts its own Spanish resource page on the “Bank Your Vote” website.

The RNC’s ramped-up effort to court Hispanic voters and encourage them to vote early comes as President Joe Biden’s campaign is similarly pouring unprecedented amounts of resources into maintaining and growing his Hispanic base. Ahead of Wednesday’s Republican debate in California, Biden’s campaign released a Spanish ad, a part of its 16-week $25 million ad campaign, which highlights the differences between him and Republican candidates. The ad is airing on both TV and digital in battleground states in both English and Spanish. The campaign has made historically early and large investments in the Democratic Party’s Hispanic base, likely to counter the Republican Party’s increasing attractiveness to the community.

Further, the Democratic National Committee launched an initiative ahead of the debate called Reach in Spanish. The program began holding Spanish training events for organizers, teaching them to home in on Hispanic media. Already, the DNC has held three Spanish Reach training shifts for volunteers, who have completed almost 800 shifts. 

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In the midterm elections, the Republican Party made significant progress within the Hispanic community, helping secure its majority in the House. Further, heavily Hispanic communities such as Miami-Dade County in Florida were flipped Republican, boosting the state’s party to victory. According to data from the Pew Research Center, 39% of Hispanic voters opted to support Republicans in the midterm elections. This is compared to just 25% of the group who did so in 2018’s midterm elections.

According to Univision polling, Biden’s approval among Hispanics has fallen from 76% saying they “strongly” or “somewhat” approve in 2021 to 57% saying the same this month. In a hypothetical 2024 matchup, Hispanics indicated they would vote for Biden over Trump 58% to 31%. This could be worrying for Biden’s campaign because Hispanics were estimated to have chosen him by a margin of 3-1 in several key states in 2020, and 2-1 in other pivotal areas. The group’s swing for Biden was credited by some for his win over Trump.