Romney's Latino Outreach

Mitt Romney has a plan to lure Latino voters into his camp, and perhaps not surprisingly, it's the same strategy he's employing to win over women, young people, independents, and all other undecided voters. Here's a hint: It's the economy, stupid.

"Did you know that the rate of unemployment among Hispanic-Americans rose last month to 11 percent?" Romney said on Tuesday during a rally in Fort Worth, Texas. "And that the people in this country that are poor, living in poverty, one out of three are Hispanic-American?"

You couldn't blame any Republican who, upon hearing Romney's remarks, may have whispered, "Finally."

Indeed, the political chattering class has long wondered: When will Romney, who lags far behind President Obama with Latino voters, signal an aggressive outreach to the country's fastest-growing demographic? And, considering Romney's hard-right stance on illegal immigration made his Republican rivals look moderate by comparison, perhaps the more salient question is: How will Romney sell himself to a group that was often ignored and occasionally vilified during the brutal, prolonged GOP primary contest?

The bottom line is that when Romney finally offered an olive branch this week to wary Latino voters, he did it on his terms, talking about jobs and the economy rather than immigration and foreign policy. Read more

— Tim Alberta

NATIONAL JOURNAL’S PRESIDENTIAL RACE REPORT

Cruel June for Obama, Democrats Could Get Worse
[Associated Press, 6/6/12] With Tuesday’s bitter loss in Wisconsin’s gubernatorial recall and last week’s jobs report, June is already proving a cruel month for Obama and the Democrats. But it could get a lot worse: SCOTUS will soon rule on the president’s 2010 health care law, and Democrats are fighting to hold on to former Rep. Gabrielle Gifford’s House seat in next Tuesday’s special election in Arizona.

Jobs, Money, Scott Walker: Is It Time for Democrats to Panic?
[National Journal, 6/7/12] Democrats are having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad June. But if it’s time to start panicking, most of them haven’t gotten the memo. As National Journal's Naureen Khan writes, Democrats nationwide, both publicly and privately, seem remarkably Zen about their party’s prospects in November.

Romney’s Tipping Point
[National Journal, 6/7/12] If Romney is inaugurated as president in January, history may look to June as the month when Obama's fate was sealed, writes Hotline's Reid Wilson. Republicans would love to convince voters that the president is at fault, but there’s little he can do to alter the course of the world economy. 

Romney, GOP Committees Raise $76.8 Million in May  
[National Journal, 6/7/12] The Romney campaign and the Republican committees that support it raised $76.8 million in May, the campaign announced on Thursday. The haul far surpasses the $60 million the Obama campaign and Democratic committees brought in.

Sheldon Adelson To Give $1 Million to Pro-Romney Super PAC  
[CNN, 6/7/12] Sheldon Adelson, the casino mogul who backed Newt Gingrich, will give $1 million in his "first round of donations" to the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future — and probably a whole lot more. Politico's Ken Vogel writes that the race for Adelson’s cash is emblematic of a larger phenomenon — the power struggle between the outside groups trying to defeat Obama.

The Candidate Next Door
[New York Times, 6/6/12] After overcoming the distrust of social conservatives and evangelical voters to clinch the GOP nomination, Romney must win over another constituency, one that his campaign never anticipated, polled or targeted: his disaffected California neighbors.

Poll: Obama’s Va. Coalition Gives Him Slight Lead Over Romney
[National Journal, 6/7/12] Obama holds a slight and tenuous lead over Romney in Virginia, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday morning that also shows that, despite his high approval ratings, Gov. Bob McDonnell would provide no electoral boost as Romney’s veep pick.

Clinton Aides: Bill Screwed Up
[Politico, 6/7/12] Big Dog has been known for wandering off script, but his remarks about taxes and Romney in the past few days have perplexed even Clinton’s own staffers and led him to admit, “I’m a little rusty at politics.” The gaffes prompted “what-he-meant-to-say” clarifications that the Obama team helped craft. Meanwhile, here's why Obama still needs the unpredictable 42nd president.

GOP Looks for a Post-Wisconsin Boost
[Wall Street Journal, 6/6/12] Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s victory in Tuesday’s Wisconsin recall election ignited a heated debate on all sides over the vote’s implications for November. The GOP argues it could remake the electoral map, but Team Obama says they are confident many Walker voters went for him out of distaste for the recall process and will vote for Obama in the fall.

Europe Gives Democrats New Line of Attack
[New York Times, 6/6/12] In a new line of attack, top Democrats are pointing to Europe to argue that Romney and the GOP, with their focus on spending cuts, are following Europe’s dismal austerity example: Greece over the edge; Italy, Spain, Portugal on the edge; and Britain in recession.

Opinion: Obama’s Campaign Isn’t Working
[Washington Examiner, 6/7/12] Obama’s reelection camp spent $25 million on television ads in May, and The Examiner’s Conn Carroll writes that they have nothing to show for it: Obama’s numbers have barely moved, and the Democrats lost a crucial recall election on Tuesday. Carroll writes that the White House can’t compete with reality — Obama’s policies are simply not working.

Attend a National Journal LIVE event | Sign up for National Journal newsletters