In the summer of 2022, state and national Republicans gathered in metro Atlanta to mark their commitment to diversify their electorate – and go after the Latino vote.
The Republican National Committee had just inaugurated a brand new Hispanic Community Center in a strip mall in Suwanee, a Gwinnett County town that became majority-minority for the first time in 2020, according to data from that year’s U.S. Census. On hand were national Republican officials like RNC chair Ronna McDaniel, as well as local and state elected officials.
Despite the splashy opening — and despite a looming high-stakes presidential race — Gwinnett’s RNC Hispanic Community Center closed its doors in early 2023. It was open for only about seven months.
As first reported by the now-defunct media startup The Messenger, most of the 20 Hispanic Community Centers opened by Republicans nationwide in 2022 suffered a similar fate as metro Atlanta’s. The RNC confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that there are only five Hispanic Community Centers at the moment, in Texas, California and New York.
On June 29, 2022, in Suwanee, McDaniel told the crowd that packed the Suwanee Hispanic center that its opening was symbolic.
“We are here because it’s a symbol of our commitment to reach out to every voter because we are the party that makes life better for every single American,” she said. “This is why we are seeing the gains that we are seeing across the country but especially with the Hispanic community.”
Although Joe Biden handily won the Latino vote in Georgia in 2020, Republicans posted a significant improvement relative to their 2016 performance, with Donald Trump increasing his vote share in the state from 27% to 37%.
The RNC told the AJC that because the RNC’s budget only lasts as long as its chairperson’s term, the Suwanee center’s lease ended at the end of the 2022 term, as did the lease for all other community centers.
According to the organization, its short-lived center in Gwinnett fulfilled its mission of fostering grassroots connection between Latino voters and the Republican party.
The space hosted events including a policy panel on the impact of crime on Hispanic communities, candidate forums, and FIFA World Cup watch parties. The center’s staff collaborated with the campaign of now State Rep. Reynaldo “Rey” Martinez, R-Loganville, who became in 2023 the second Latino member of the Georgia state House Republican caucus.
Still, some experts say that, in order for Latino outreach to be effective, having a consistent, enduring presence in the community is key.
The RNC told the AJC that it is still working to engage with Hispanic voters nationwide, including with an early voting and ballot harvesting push in Spanish called ‘Deposita tu Voto,’ or “Bank Your Vote.”
“Republicans will continue to make historic investments in Hispanic voter outreach,” RNC Hispanic Communications Director, Jaime Florez said.
Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King, a Republican, made history two years ago when he became the first Hispanic constitutional officer elected in Georgia.
He spoke at the RNC Hispanic Community Center’s opening, and took part in many of the events held there, including a roundtable with Hispanic business owners.
“No two election cycles are the same,” he said responding to a question about the center closing ahead of the 2024 election. “I’ll leave it to the professionals to decide if resources are best spent on a physical office, direct voter contacts, or both.”
In King’s view, Republicans should look for opportunities to build bridges with “every community,” but he and others in Georgia note there may be a particularly significant overlap between the Hispanic community and the GOP’s values.
“Latino voters believe in hard work, the rule of law, and the American Dream,” he said. “They’re willing to give Republicans a chance.”
Jerry Gonzalez leads GALEO, the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, a nonprofit focused on civic engagement. He says the state’s Hispanic voters could play a determinant role in this year’s election.
The number of Latino voters has surpassed 400,000 statewide — that’s more than 36 times the margin by which President Joe Biden carried Georgia in 2020. Plus, the Georgia Latino electorate outperforms national Latino voter participation rates. Taking that into consideration, Gonzalez said both parties could do much better when it comes to engaging with this slice of the electorate.
Late last year, GALEO released the results of a widescale survey of Georgia Latino residents. Two-thirds of the 500 respondents indicated they had not been contacted by a political party, political campaign, or voter registration organization. Another poll of Georgia Latinos conducted around the same time by a national group also found most voters didn’t think either party pays them enough attention.
“Candidates and political parties should not take our community for granted and begin outreach soon,” Gonzalez said.
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