The Hispanic vote Lead Rick Scott To Victory

Hispanic American voters and Governor Rick Scott created a Spanish Campaign Ad (shown above) before the elections. Apparently, his efforts to reach out to his Hispanic constituencies did indeed work in his favor as he came to victory in the November 2018 Mid-term elections. Recently, Florida’s Hispanic voters, as well as the GOP party membership, have increased its’ numbers. According to The Federalist report, the Florida GOP has seen an 18 percent jump amongst the Hispanic population in comparison to the 2016 Florida elections. Pre-election surveys conducted revealed that 95 percent of Hispanic voters made up of Puerto Ricans, Cubans and others stated they were likely to vote Republican.

Over his years as Governor Senator Scott discovered ways to reach out to the Hispanic community of voters. Since the 1980’s some strategists have stated that Republicans have held the Cuban Vote due to the Bay of Pigs invasion as written from Britannica. Cuban Americans have remained a strong force for the Conservative vote and were also credited to George W. Bush’s 2000 election win. Republicans in Florida have been known to favor Cuban Americans as they make up 6 percent of the population in Florida. The results of the 2018 elections survey accounted for registered Southeast Florida of voters were 46 percent would vote for Democrat Bill Nelson, 47 percent would vote for Republican Rick Scott and only 7 percent were undecided. Within Central Florida 71 percent would vote for Democrat Bill Nelson, 23 percent would vote for Republican Rick Scott and only 6 percent were undecided.       Lastly, Tampa Bay voters stated 58 percent would vote for Democrat Bill Nelson, 34 percent would vote for Republican Rick Scott and only 8 percent were undecided. Overall survey numbers went as follows – 96 percent of Democrat voters stated they would vote for Bill Nelson, 95 percent of voters stated they would vote for Rick Scott and 16 percent of Independent voters were undecided. These results reveal the beginning of Hispanic voters now leaning more right and voting for more Republican candidates than ever before.

In conclusion, future candidates should take a lesson from Republican Senator Rick Scott by reaching out to Hispanic and minority voters. The numbers clearly show that overcoming these small obstacles and reaching out to the people in a creative way worked out in the end as he won the 2018 November election. The language barrier was the main portion of what Governor Scott needed to address as he sought out the needs of these communities were the same as every American longing for a career, sharper education and a secure community to grow in. Senator Rick Scott stated “I put a lot of effort into making sure I could speak Spanish”, he said.