New York – The large number of Hispanics in Pennsylvania, including those who are part of the Puerto Rican community, make that state one of the most competitive in the presidential elections in the United States, considered Rubén Rodríguez, a Puerto Rican-born Republican councilman in Waterbury, Connecticut, and member of Latinos Americans for Trump.
The Latino is an emotional voter, describes Rodriguez
“The Latino vote is crucial in these states. If you look at the states that are crucial in the elections, the majority are Latino (with a large population). The only one I can get a little out of is Michigan, and there are still a lot of Latinos there too. And this is because Latinos don’t look at which party the candidate belongs to; Latinos are driven by emotions; they vote based on emotions. ‘(They say) I don’t like what you did this year, so I’m going to punish you and vote for the other one.’ That’s why those states are more crucial,” said Rodríguez, who is also the regional director of the Northeast zone of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly (RNHA), in an interview with El Diario.
Asked by this newspaper about the voting intention of Puerto Ricans in states like Pennsylvania, where Joe Biden beat Donald Trump in 2020 by almost 1% (50% versus 48.8%), Rodríguez insisted that the Puerto Rican voter in that district is a changing one who votes motivated mainly by what a candidate did or did not do during his government administration or by what he promises to do.
“He is not a person who goes for colors. Yes, there are many who vote because I am red or blue, or Republican or Democrat, but most are carried away by emotions. And if they don’t like what they saw with a president or an Administration, then they go with the other one,” he said.
Based on this theory, the politician, who in 2020 competed for a position in the federal House of Representatives for District 5 of Connecticut, thinks that Puerto Ricans in the decisive state of Pennsylvania could help advance Trump’s electoral interests.
According to Rodríguez, one issue that could influence the vote of Puerto Ricans in the state is the handling of the immigration issue by the Biden-Harris Administration.
This type of issue, according to the official, calls into question the Democrats’ commitment to Puerto Ricans.
Rodríguez, born in the town of Utuado located in the center of the island, argued that Democratic candidate Kamala Harris wants to ensure more rights for undocumented immigrants than for Puerto Ricans who are US citizens.
“The vice president wants immigrants to have the right to vote…She is not seeing what is happening with Puerto Ricans who are on the island, who are born citizens and do not have the right to vote for the president. And that is a message that is being sent to Puerto Ricans. Look at how she treats us, but she does want to support those who come to the United States illegally,” he said.
“But you (the Republicans) say that what you don’t agree with is illegal immigration; if an immigrant legalizes himself, what’s the problem with him voting? Anyone who is an American citizen has the right to vote,” the newspaper said.
“For those who come here legally, that’s fine. You did your paperwork, you did everything, and you’re here legally…But, like every country, there is a process that you have to follow, and that’s what’s happening here. The laws are being changed to protect people who are in the United States illegally, not those who are here legally,” he replied.
For Rodriguez, measures such as AB 1840, which is about to be approved by the California legislature to make undocumented immigrants eligible for up to $150,000 in housing loans, also do not benefit the Democratic candidate’s aspirations.
“That will create another hole in the economy, and that message is also being conveyed, because many Puerto Ricans come here looking for housing, but there is none,” he said.
“There is no denying that there is now a growing consensus among Democrats that Kamala Harris is more likely to prevail in a race than Joe Biden. How do you see the outlook in Pennsylvania?” the newspaper asked.
“This is like climbing up to the cloud and letting yourself fall, because, as soon as the debate comes and Trump shows who she is, that’s when you’re going to see the decline in support for the vice president,” he bet.
The first debate between Trump and Harris is scheduled for September 10 by ABC News.
This week, through the social network Truth Social, Trump announced that he had reached an agreement with the Democrats for the meeting in which the contenders will not be able to have notes at their disposal and the microphones will be turned off until it is the candidate’s turn to speak.
Trump’s handling of Puerto Rico issues
Regarding the handling of issues related to Puerto Rico, Rodriguez, who identified himself as the first Hispanic in the state of Connecticut to publicly endorse Trump in 2016, defended the former president in the controversy over the throwing of paper towels to victims in Puerto Rico during his visit to the island after Hurricane Maria in September 2017.
“Detractors say that Trump does not care about Puerto Rico. What many people remember is the throwing of the paper towel and the handling of federal funds. That is what they say Trump has done for Puerto Rico, how do you respond to them?” asked El Diario.
“Where they took the president… remember that there was a lot of security and a lot of people there. They showed when he threw the paper, but they don’t show the truth of how it happened. When the security guards were cornering him because there were a lot of people around, they had to protect him, people were telling him to throw something at him, but he wasn’t going to throw a Goya jar, he took the paper towel that they handed him and threw it. There was a lot of editing of what happened, and that was what was seen…”, he responded.
Regarding federal reconstruction funds, the Republican leader alleged that the mismanagement of money by government authorities on the island led Trump to restrict the money.
“When he found out, he said he would send the money when you send me a receipt that you spent the money on what was necessary…So, he said he had to stop that, because there was a lot of corruption. He had to put up with that for a while and send the money little by little…”, she argued.
“There is another fact here and the other fact is that there was no evidence at that time that money was being misappropriated that had to do with reconstruction. In that sense, do you understand that the funds for Puerto Rico could have been handled differently?” the media continued.
“Remember, Puerto Rico’s history of mismanagement by past administrations and he knew that… He already had the mentality that money was mismanaged in PR and he had to be sure that what was being used was for the people,” he insisted.
Rodriguez acknowledged, however, that many of those who voted for Biden in the last election were Puerto Ricans upset with the Trump administration’s response and handling of Hurricane Maria and aid for reconstruction on the island.
“Yes, it is possible. There was never a public conversation about it. People just kept it in their minds,” he said.
Rodriguez, however, believes that the issue will not have any bearing on the electoral decision of Puerto Ricans in these elections.
“People have already put that in the past… Now they look at what is happening with the economy and what is happening in the United States, and we are the laughing stock of the entire world,” he said.
With 69 days to go until the US election, Rodriguez said the focus of the Republicans’ speech is to insist that Americans are no better off now than they were before 2020, particularly economically.
“As for us, the Republicans, we are trying to send a cleaner message, and for people to understand how things were four years ago and how they are now… That is the biggest message. Four years ago, we were doing better economically, and in recent years everything has been on the rise, food, housing, gasoline. That is an issue that we are taking forward…” he said.
A trip by the Trump team to Puerto Rico?
Rodriguez revealed that, as part of the Republicans’ strategy to attract the Puerto Rican vote, they are planning a trip by Trump representatives to Puerto Rico to assess the needs of the island’s residents.
“We are talking about making a trip to Puerto Rico to listen to the people. Even though Puerto Rico is not a country that votes (in federal elections), there are many Puerto Ricans in the U.S. who vote and have families in Puerto Rico. It is something that is being discussed to see how we can achieve it,” he recalled.
The interviewee acknowledged that there is a lot of work to be done to win the vote of Puerto Ricans, but added that “the objective is being achieved in terms of the message that is being conveyed to the community.”
Statehood for Puerto Rico and the stance of Republicans in Pennsylvania
In Reading, the city with the largest number of Latinos in the state, former Puerto Rican Governor Luis Fortuño led an event to launch a “Latino Americans for Trump” committee last June.
Fortuño, a member of the conservative wing of the ruling New Progressive Party (NPP) and a supporter of statehood for the island, said he decided to support Trump’s candidacy because of his proposals on issues such as border security.
For Rodríguez, Fortuño’s presence could have some influence on the Puerto Rican electorate in the state.
“It is possible that it has influence, because many people respected Fortuño, and not only him, but many leaders who were there in Pennsylvania that we have who are carrying that message of the vote,” he said.
At the event, journalists approached Republicans such as Senate candidate David McCormick about their stance against statehood for Puerto Rico.
“On the campaign trail, I am not talking about Puerto Rican statehood as a main issue at the moment because the things that are affecting our country in the wrong direction affect all Pennsylvanians, including the Latino community and those are issues that they are bringing to me more,” McCormick said, according to the Pennsylvania Capital Star.
Rodriguez, who believes in statehood for the territory, said that to move forward on the issue, a more comprehensive discussion must begin because the battle for seats in Congress, if Puerto Rico becomes a state, is an issue that particularly affects Republicans.
“Puerto Rico would be a state like Pennsylvania, a ‘purple state’, one four-year term will be Republican and the other Democrat. What happens with that? PR would have five congressmen and two senators. By having that, they can turn the balance from one side to the other, and that is the fear that both parties have; it is not just the Republicans,” he said.
The Republican Party platform approved at the national convention held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, last July does not include a mention of statehood as in previous years.
For Rodriguez, the impact that this decision by Trump and his team could have would be “minimal” in electoral terms.
“Minimal, because the electorate right now is not thinking about the status of Puerto Rico; what they are thinking more about is the economy and what is happening in the U.S.,” he said.
Data from the United States Census Bureau indicate that the city of Philadelphia has the second largest population of Puerto Ricans, preceded only by New York.
In 2010, the bureau estimated that 121,643 Puerto Ricans lived in Philadelphia. That number increased to 134,934 in 2017 and 146,153 in 2019, respectively.
According to data from the Center for Puerto Rican Studies in New York (El Centro), by 2019, nearly 500,000 Puerto Ricans lived in Pennsylvania, making the state the third with the highest concentration of members of that population.
More generally, of the 60 million Latinos residing in the United States, almost a quarter of a million live in Philadelphia, representing 15.2% of the city’s population.
Historically, Hispanic and Latino voters in Pennsylvania have supported Democratic candidates. However, in recent years the gap appears to be narrowing. In 2020, 69% of Latino or Hispanic voters voted for Biden, while 27% did so for Trump, according to NBC News exit poll data. In 2016, 74% voted for Hillary Clinton versus 22% for Trump.
Connecticut and electoral abstention
In Connecticut, between 2000 and 2022, the white population decreased by 13%, while the Puerto Rican population grew by 46%, according to data reported by Connecticut Public Radio citing research by the UConn Puerto Rican Studies Initiative.
Among Puerto Ricans and other Hispanic or Latino groups, the share was 18% in the state by 2022, or 8% and 10%, respectively, making it the second-largest group in Connecticut after whites.
Despite the growth of this population in general, Charles Venator-Santiago, director of the Initiative, explained to the aforementioned media that communities such as the Puerto Ricans do not participate significantly in the political process. “Although Puerto Ricans and Latinos represent almost 20% of the population of Connecticut, only about 13% are of voting age,” said the professor of political science.
In addition to the high levels of poverty they face, the disillusionment of young people with politics is part of what could be discouraging these potential voters from going to the polls.
El Diario contacted Venator Santiago to address this issue, but did not receive a response.
On this subject, Rodriguez, who is also the spokesman for the Republican minority on the Waterbury board, highlighted the fact that, because Connecticut is not considered a swing state, there is not enough investment in the electorate.
“In Connecticut, since it is not seen as a battleground state, the necessary money is not being invested to attract that vote… We are working on that. The organization that I belong to, the Republican National Hispanic Assembly (RNHA), has been bringing more information to these states that are considered either red or blue, so that people can come and vote,” he said.
However, he added that the polls they handle show that there has been an increase in the inclination of voters towards the Republican Party, despite the fact that Connecticut has traditionally been a Democratic stronghold.
“Before, Hispanics were more inclined to the Democratic Party. Now we are seeing that the polls we are doing have gone from 28% in 2020 to 38% of Hispanics leaning Republican. This is because of family values, that affects; moreover, they are seeing the economy, and they are thinking that in 2020 they voted badly. And I have heard it. I have Democrats, Democrats; I even have a friend who was a Democratic leader in a town who is a lawyer and everything, and this year he is going to vote Republican,” he said.
“But, can we really say that these Puerto Ricans you are referring to completely believe in Republican values or is it that they are not satisfied with certain Democratic candidates and/or candidate proposals?” El Diario asked.
“They are in a balance. There is a part that says it is because of the values, but also another part that is saying that they do not feel comfortable or that they have not seen a change in the past three years,” he replied.
This article is part of a series focused on the electoral power of Puerto Ricans in key states of the United States.
Next week, we bring you the analysis of Democratic leaders in Pennsylvania on the Puerto Rican vote in the state.
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