Veteran Republican official Ed Gillespie appears on “Al Punto”
By JORDAN FABIAN
Channel: Politics
Long-time Republican operative Ed Gillespie says he wants a more Latino-friendly GOP, but will the rest of his party play along?
Gillespie sat down Monday with Univision’s Jorge Ramos for an exclusive interview to discuss ways that the GOP could attract the support of more Latinos after a dismal showing in the 2008 presidential election, when the party’s nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) got only 31 percent of the Latino vote.
Now serving as chairman of the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC), Gillespie talked up his organization’s effort to recruit 100 Latino candidates to run for statewide office as a way to boost the GOP’s appeal to the Latino community.
“I think that would help us increase our share of the Hispanic vote,” he said. “People relate to someone who they can identify with, so I do think it would be helpful to our party to have more elected officials who are Hispanic to help us get our message out.”
Gillespie, who served as head of the Republican Party under President George W. Bush, also said that his effort could help create a deep bench of Latino Republican officials who could rise through the ranks to national office, even as ”President of the United States some day.”
But with a slate of presidential candidates talking tough on illegal immigration and with polls showing Latinos continuing to give the GOP low marks, can Republicans make gains next year?
Catch the rest of Gillespie’s interview on Univision’s public-affairs program ”Al Punto” this Sunday at 10 a.m. Eastern/9 a.m. Central. Much more from this interview will also be posted in English on the Univision News Tumblr.
