Koch Hispanic group scaling back political spending

The Libre Initiative, which does political outreach to Hispanics for conservative megadonors Charles and David Koch, has pulled back its campaign spending projections for 2016 because of Donald Trump’s nomination.

The group scaled-back its plans because it did not believe either Trump or Hillary Clinton would back the policies it supports. Its political spending is now expected to be on par with what it spent on the 2014 midterm election.

{mosads}“Originally we projected we were going to increase spending to leverage the attention paid to the presidential campaign to advance and drive our message,” Daniel Garza, executive director of the Libre Initiative, told The Hill.

“Because we don’t feel either one of the candidates is going to achieve the desired policy outcomes, we pulled back on that projection,” Garza added.

The decision is in line with how the Koch brothers are approaching the presidential race. They have declined to spend money on behalf of Trump, the Republican nominee.

Trump’s proposals to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and to build a wall on the Mexican border proved incompatible with Libre’s message of conservative Hispanic advocacy, Garza said.

“We were one of the first ones out of the box to oppose Trump’s positions on immigration,” said Garza. “Not only because of what it would do to immigrants, but the economy and America as a whole and what it would do to increase the size of government.”

In November, Trump proposed a “deportation force” modeled on the Eisenhower-era Operation Wetback. Aside from the connection to the controversial 1950s program, Trump’s proposal was panned for its potential cost and manpower requirements.

Trump’s trade policies also contributed to keeping Libre out of the presidential race.

Garza said Trump’s opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) clashes with Libre’s free market vision. “We’re supportive of it because it expands markets and it expands choices for consumers,” he said of the TPP.

Clinton backed the trade deal while secretary of State in the Obama administration but rescinded her support as she fought off Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to win the Democratic presidential nomination.

While many prominent anti-Trump Republicans have pledged support for Clinton, Garza said that was not an option for Libre.

“We very much detest Clinton’s agenda,” he said.

Hispanic voters, already a key constituency in 2012, have become central to the 2016 election in light of demographic shifts and Trump’s focus on immigration. 

Democrats are targeting Hispanic voters in Colorado, Florida and Nevada, three swing states with relatively high Latino populations that could swing the electoral college.

The Center for Community Change Action, a progressive group that focuses on civil rights, collected $15 million to enfranchise Latino voters in those states with a focus on electing pro-immigration reform candidates.

“The $15 million program is the largest we’ve seen so far,” said Jeff Parcher, communications director for the group. 

Parcher explained their goal was to target strategic Latino populations with the ability to change electoral outcomes. 

“Instead of operating in 40 states, when we pitched the idea last fall, let’s do a drill down and run a really game-changing program where the Latino vote could really make a difference,” said Parcher.

Garza admitted he would have liked to invest more in Latino voter outreach this year. 

“This really is a banner year for the left to dig in on the Latino vote and Latino voters and to try to lock them in because the candidate on the Republican side has made it easy,” said Garza.

For Libre, down-ballot races are another story.

“We find that it’s exactly the opposite situation in Senate and congressional races,” said Garza. “It’s not a throwaway year in that we still intend to be very targeted in driving a specific message.”

Democrats are attempting to peg Republican candidates to Trump’s rhetoric.

“No amount of money that the Koch brothers spend will erase the stain that the Trump candidacy has left on Republicans up and down the ballot, many of whom were spouting the same offensive and divisive comments before he was even their nominee,” said Walter Garcia, western regional communications director for the Democratic National Committee.