House Members Launch PAC to Elect More Hispanic Republicans to Congress

Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and Tony Gonzales (R-TX) launched a political action committee (PAC) Tuesday aimed at growing Hispanic Republicans’ presence in Congress and drawing Hispanic voters to the GOP.

Diaz-Balart spoke about the newly formed PAC, called the Hispanic Leadership Trust, at a press conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in D.C. alongside members of Republican leadership.

“I think we are on the cusp of electing a new wave of Hispanic Republican leaders to Congress,” Diaz-Balart said. “It’s an exciting day, and so while this is not a new effort, this will now be formalized in a way that has not been done before.”

Gonzales, who, along with Diaz-Balart, serves as cochair of the Republican Congressional Hispanic Conference, said, “What a historic day. I think you’re seeing conservative Hispanics more organized than ever before.”

The Hispanic conference is made up of nine members, a meager number compared to its Democrat counterpart, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which has nearly 40 members.

The GOP’s new PAC is designed to compete with the Democrats’ Bold PAC and will aim to close that wide gap in Hispanic membership and draw more Hispanic voters — the majority of whom historically have voted Democrat — to the Republican Party.

Gonzales did not dive into too much detail on fundraising goals or which candidates or states the Hispanic Leadership Trust would target. He said he anticipated the group would raise “many millions” and quipped, “We’re going to start with all 50 states and go from there.”

Republican Mayra Flores, who also appeared at the press conference, is a Mexican American running in a special election in south Texas on June 14.

Flores is hoping to replace Rep. Filemon Vela (D-TX), who resigned from Congress in March. Vela had represented the 34th District for about a decade but won his reelection races there by an increasingly narrower gap from 2016 on.

Flores told Breitbart News the financial aspect of campaigning was “a problem before” but that the support she has seen from donors has made flipping the district, which is deeply Hispanic, a more realistic prospect.

“We didn’t have the funds to get the conservative message across that we’re standing for God, life, family, and hard work,” Flores said. “Now we have the funds to get that message across, and we are very excited, and we believe that we’ll be successful on June 14.”

Flores explained that the Hispanic Leadership Trust would, similarly, invest money in Hispanic candidates, whose campaign efforts would then work to convert Hispanic voters.

Flores said:

It is a dream come true to have something like this being done for Hispanics. It’s going to be honestly remarkable, and it’s going to motivate other Hispanics to get involved because it’s always been about the money. You know, when I decided to run, I was told that I needed to have $100,000, and I didn’t have that money. I didn’t have the connections, but, praise God. Doors started opening. … I do believe that we need to do more to help other Hispanics in the future, and if we want to continue encouraging more Hispanics, we have to also help them financially as well.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), and GOP Conference chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) were among those present to show support for the Hispanic Leadership Trust rollout.

McCarthy spoke on priority issues for Republicans, including inflation, crime, and immigration, noting, “When it’s about the issues, we expand this party.”

“Just look at the facts,” McCarthy said, citing evidence that Hispanic Americans are abandoning the Democrat Party, such as the fact that 103 Hispanic Republican candidates have filed to run for Congress this year and a Wall Street Journal poll taken in March that found Republicans had a nine-point lead over Democrats among Hispanic voters.

McCarthy said of the Hispanic Leadership Trust, “You’ll see the outcome in this next election, not just in Congress but in school boards and city councils and Statehouses. This will continue to grow to make the Republican Party the majority based upon policies that every American wants and desires.”