More than three months ago, U.S. Rep. Val Demings unveiled a crucial initiative to address issues surrounding Latino voters, a key voting bloc that could impact the outcome of the U.S. Senate race in Florida and help her unseat a GOP incumbent who is Latino.
But will Demings’ messaging resonate with Hispanic voters at the polls in the November election?
She’s a Black Democrat from Central Florida and a Congresswoman who was on a list of potential vice president candidates for Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election. She’s well-known as the first female police chief in Orlando and comes from humble beginnings — her mother worked as a maid and her father was a janitor.
But Republican opponent Marco Rubio has a slight lead in recent polls and an advantage in Florida’s largest county in the state — Miami-Dade — where more Hispanics are registered as Republicans than Democrats.
His parents, from Cuba, “earned their way to the middle class by working humble jobs, his father as a bartender in hotels and his mother as a maid, cashier, and stock clerk,” according to Rubio’s bio. He is seeking a third term in the U.S. Senate and is a former Florida House Speaker.
Meanwhile, Demings has been traversing the state in hopes of attracting Hispanic voters, through what’s called Todos Con Demings, a Hispanic outreach coalition launched in April by her campaign.
In English, todos con can mean all with, everyone with, or other similar translations.
‘She is telling her American Dream story to Hispanic voters’
The coalition’s press secretary is José Díaz, who recently told the Florida Phoenix that Todos Con Demings is using social media “to reach Hispanic voters where they are” and digital advertising in Spanish since June.
“Demings has been a constant presence in Hispanic communities,” Díaz said, including hosting an event that highlighted prescription drug costs at a Puerto Rican health clinic in Miami and meeting with residents in Little Havana.
She’s also hosted other campaign events across the state targeting Hispanic communities and she’s been interviewed by Hispanic media outlets.
Demings also opened a campaign office in Tampa and interviewed with a Spanish media outlet called Telemundo Noticias “two days after her primary victory,” Díaz added.
“Chief Demings is going to every community and speaking with every voter in her fight to defeat Marco Rubio,” Díaz said in an email to the Florida Phoenix. “From Miami to Jacksonville, she is telling her American Dream story to Hispanic voters throughout the state.”
Teresa Castillo is a Hispanic woman who serves as a member of the Osceola County School Board. She told the Phoenix in a text message that Demings has been making her presence known in Latinx communities across the state.
“Chief Demings has been a constant presence in Hispanic communities by highlighting prescription drug costs at a Puerto Rican health clinic in Miami, meeting and greeting with voters in Little Havana, in Miami. She also has spoken to the Venezuelan community in Central Florida,” Castillo said.
“As a Latinx woman, Val Demings is an example of what hard work and dedication to the community looks like. That is why I endorse her over Marco Rubio. She believes in accessible healthcare, and the preservation of Medicare and social security. These are important to the Hispanic community.”
While Demings uses “Val” as she visits many parts of Florida, her first name is Valdez and her middle name is Venita. Those names sound Hispanic, Díaz said, but she is not of Hispanic descent.
The latest AARP Florida poll in the U.S. Senate race shows that “Senator Marco Rubio has a narrow 49% – 47% advantage over Congresswoman Val Demings in the U.S. Senate election….
Read More: Todos Con Demings: Val Demings seeks support from FL Hispanic voters; will her message resonate?