House Republicans launched a new twitter feed in their quest to gain more votes from the Spanish speaking population. Directly rivaling the @GOPconference page, the new page, @GOPespanol, welcomed twitter users on Monday afternoon.
The feed launched just in time for Florida Senator Marco Rubio’s speech after the State of the Union on Tuesday night. Rubio, a rising star of the Republican party and son of Cuban immigrants, will give his rebuttal to President Obama in both English and Spanish.
Since President Obama won 71% of the Hispanic vote last election, the GOP has demonstrated more sensitivity to Hispanic-Americans including an increased interest in immigration reform and pathways to citizenship. The new feed is one of many attempts to win over the Hispanic population, which has been described as a “natural republican constituency,” by republican Charles Krauthammer. That is, financially and socially conservative as well as religious.
Since its launch, @GOPespanol has attracted more than 550 followers. Some of the most noteworthy include House Majority Whip, Republican Kevin McCarthy, Republican congressman Bill Huizenga, Telemundo’s Jose Diaz-Balart, and former Univision host Neida Sandoval.
