EXCLUSIVE — The LIBRE Initiative, a Koch-funded group, is seeking to remind Hispanic voters in critical battleground states with Senate races what they dislike about President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris‘s economic policies before Election Day with a new advertising push.
The LIBRE Initiative, which mobilizes Hispanic voters behind free market, conservative principles, is spending six figures on its last round of digital ads for its NoBidenomics.com campaign, a seven-figure public information endeavor, before Nov. 5.
The aim of the campaign, according to the LIBRE Initiative, is to hold Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Casey (D-PA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Jon Tester (D-MT) accountable for supporting Biden and Harris’s economic policies, known as Bidenomics, which the group contends has contributed to increases in the cost of living around the country. Those five senators are seeking reelection in the races this cycle that could determine control of the Senate.
The LIBRE Initiative’s 60-second “La Familia” ad, launched Monday, underscores “the trade-offs” millions of Hispanic families are confronting to “afford the most basic necessities” because of inflationary and regulatory pressures exacerbated by Bidenomics, according to Jose Mallea, the group’s CEO.
“Latino communities continue to face significant struggles with affordability in housing, groceries, and the overall cost of living,” Mallea told the Washington Examiner. “The rising costs are a burden many families cannot bear, making building a secure and prosperous future challenging.”
A poll conducted in May by one of LIBRE Initiative’s sister organizations, the LIBRE Institute, found that 88% of Hispanics consider the American dream to be more difficult for the next generation to achieve. That was 8 percentage points higher than the institute’s 2023 poll.
“We need to create economic policies that not only foster growth but also ensure that all communities, including Latinos, have the opportunity to thrive,” Mallea said. “It’s time for meaningful change that addresses these affordability challenges head-on, providing relief and opportunity for every family.”
The LIBRE Institute’s 2024 poll also found that 72% of Hispanic voters consider the country to be headed in the wrong direction and 49% of Hispanic voters say they are worse off than they were four years ago.
The majority of Hispanic voters have traditionally voted for Democrats, but former President Donald Trump has made inroads with the demographic as Democrats accepted more liberal policies into their party’s mainstream. In 2020, 61% of Hispanic voters cast a ballot for Biden, compared to 36% for Trump, according to Pew Research.
Four years earlier, 66% voted for 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, in contrast to 28% for Trump. This year, Hispanic voters are projected to comprise 14.7% of all eligible voters, or 32.3 million people, up from 7.4% or 14.3 million people in 2000.
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Baldwin currently has an average lead of 5.7 points over Republican real estate developer challenger Eric Hovde, according to RealClearPolitics. Brown has a 3.6-point lead over Republican car dealership chain owner Bernie Moreno, Casey has a 2.6-point lead over Republican former Bridgewater Associates CEO Dave McCormick, and Rosen has a 10.7-point lead over Republican Afghanistan War veteran Sam Brown. Fellow Republican veteran Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL, has a 5.2-point lead over Tester.