19 JULY 2020
With Renewed Attacks on Immigrants, Trump Engineering Colossal Upset for Sen. Cory Gardner and Other Complicit GOP Incumbents As Latino and Independent Voters Move Away From the Republican Party
As Trump’s Fledgling Campaign Turns to Their Tired Electoral Playbook to Weaponize Immigration, New Polling Reveals Sea Change in National Sentiment Amongst Key Swaths of Electorate — Especially in Battleground States Where Latino Vote Will Decide Election
DENVER — During a briefing call hosted by the Immigration Hub on Friday afternoon, Secretary Ken Salazar, Congressman Joe Neguse (CO-2), and immigration and campaign experts highlighted the political backlash against President Trump’s attacks on immigrant communities and Dreamers, and its impact on the Colorado Senate race and vulnerable Republicans in battleground states where the Latino vote is critical to win. Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) and other Republicans' — who have embraced Trump's endorsement — electoral prospects have diminished. Recent polling indicates a sea change in Colorado and national sentiment on the issue among key swaths of the 2020 electorate, including Independents and Latino voters.
“Latino voters are a keystone to a Biden victory for President and a Hickenlooper win in Colorado,” said Secretary Salazar. “In each of the critical battleground States and across the nation, 32 million Latinos will lift their voices to reject the disparaging divisive actions of President Trump and usher in a new era of a more just and inclusive America.”
Congressman Neguse added, "Since the beginning of his term, President Trump has utilized harmful and xenophobic rhetoric towards immigrants and enacted dangerous policies that unfairly target the immigrant community, while Senate Republicans have stood silent. His intent to tear down the DACA program that has provided hope and opportunity to thousands of young people who are working hard to contribute to our nation, is simply disgraceful and accompanies dozens of other actions from his Administration to spread fear. Coloradans understand that immigrants are members of our communities, our neighbors, friends and frontline workers ensuring that we are all kept safe throughout the pandemic. It's time to turn the page, it's time to put forward real solutions that will expand, not shrink the American dream. This issue is personal to me, as the son of immigrants, and I believe it is personal to countless Coloradans who will be voting this November."
With the 2020 election heating up — and the Trump campaign trailing former Vice President Joe Biden in virtually every poll — President Trump has stepped up his attacks on immigrant communities, looking to recreate his 2016 electoral playbook when he weaponized immigration and xenophobia as a ploy to stoke the fears (and draw the support) of pockets of undecided voters. However, polling, conducted by Global Strategy Group and commissioned by the Immigration Hub, FWD.us and America’s Voice, has shown a significant sea change in sentiment amongst large swaths of the electorate — and especially in key, battleground states where Latino voters will play a crucial role in deciding not only the presidential election but also the fate of the U.S. Senate.
One of the most vulnerable of those Republican incumbents is Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner.
“Donald Trump’s approval ratings among key voting blocs, especially Latinos, are tanking, yet he continues to deploy his failed electoral playbook of attacking and blaming immigrants for his own failures,” said Sergio Gonzales, Deputy Director of the Immigration Hub. “Just today, a federal court has ordered the Trump administration to process new DACA applications pursuant to the Supreme Court ruling or be in contempt. Meanwhile, Cory Gardner has attempted to distance himself from Trump’s sinking ship, but has voted with Trump 89% of the time and has consistently failed to hold Trump accountable for his egregious anti-immigrant agenda. Coloradans have rejected candidates who fail to uphold their values and put forward common sense solutions and they will undoubtedly reject Trump and Cory Gardner in November. Likewise, thanks to their own complicity and enabling of Trump, other Republican Senators up for election this year have every right to be worried about their own electoral outcomes.”
“‘Why is Senator Gardner on the sidelines while our community is battered by multiple storms?’ may well sum up Latino voter sentiment in Colorado. Bearing a disproportionate impact from the pandemic, Hispanics, who made up 11% of ballots cast in the state in 2018, continue to wait for action on equitable relief while nearly 50% have experienced themselves or someone they know have be hospitalized due to COVID-19. They continue to wait for action on DREAM and DACA protections and on extending relief to mixed status families—measures Latinos in Colorado overwhelmingly support. Candidates matter, issues matter, and actions speak louder than words. So far, Latinos seem to be getting silence from Senator Gardner,” said Clarissa Martinez De Castro, UnidosUS Deputy Vice President for Policy and Advocacy.
In response to the Supreme Court blocking his termination of the DACA program, Donald Trump tweeted his pledge to end the highly successful and popular program. A recent poll commissioned in part by the Immigration Hub finds large bipartisan support in twelve battleground states, including Colorado, to provide a path to citizenship to Dreamers. Additionally, the majority of voters surveyed had doubts about voting for President Donald Trump due to his support for the deportation of Dreamers. Similarly, a poll by UnidosUS analyzed the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Latinos in Colorado and found overwhelming support for DACA.
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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.