MILWAUKEE (AP) 鈥� In two decades of street outreach on Milwaukee鈥檚 south side, evangelical pastor Marty Calderon has offered Bible study, gang prevention, a safe place to stay for those battling addiction, and help getting jobs for those newly released from prison.
But as he鈥檚 watched rising crime threaten those efforts to 鈥渃lean up鈥� his impoverished neighborhood, Calderon started bringing Republican politicians to his ministry, God Touch.
He hopes the 鈥� and the conservative candidates will learn these voters鈥� reality, especially their immigration journeys.
鈥淲e鈥檝e never had the Republicans come as strong as they are. 鈥� I鈥檓 very cautious doing this because I just don鈥檛 want people thinking they鈥檙e going to come get a vote,鈥� Calderon said in his sanctuary, adding that he doesn鈥檛 push specific candidates on his community. 鈥淚鈥檓 just saying go out and vote, and pray about it.鈥�
Republican candidates across the country are seeking to expand recent gains the party has made with to to Los Angeles. What seems to be driving them are bread-and-butter issues that Calderon鈥檚 neighbors constantly mentioned to Associated Press reporters last week 鈥� rampant lawlessness, struggling schools, and
Those consistently matter more to Latino voters than immigration, allowing Republicans to make inroads that constitute a 鈥渂ig re-alignment鈥� 鈥� if they end up splitting their vote close to 40% Republican and 60% Democratic instead of historically a third of Latinos voting with the right, said Geraldo Cadava, a Northwestern University history and Latino studies professor.
Swinging even a few thousand votes in a state like Wisconsin 鈥� which delivered minuscule margins for Trump in 2016 and for Biden in 2020 鈥� could impact national politics because .
A month before the midterms, Johnson was talking about the importance of 鈥渞enewed faith鈥� as he met with Calderon and other community leaders in the Republican National Committee鈥檚 one-year-old Hispanic outreach center, two blocks from God Touch.
鈥淲e鈥檙e showing up,鈥� Johnson said of the party鈥檚 outreach in communities like this. 鈥淲e have a universal message.鈥�
Minutes earlier, Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, whose southeastern Wisconsin district is just a few miles south, had also made a stop at the storefront center, decorated with yard signs, an elephant-shaped pi帽ata and U.S. and state flags.
These efforts encourage Hilario Deleon, 21, who grew up on the south side and, after losing his dishwashing job during the COVID-19 lockdown, got involved in Republican campaigning.
鈥淲e鈥檝e failed in the past to be in the community,鈥� he said of the GOP. He added that he likes to see political and faith leaders walking the walk, like Calderon's weekly food distribution. 鈥淚 like to see God through people鈥檚 actions.鈥�
Wisconsin鈥檚 elections commission doesn鈥檛 collect race or ethnicity data, but the immigrant rights advocacy group Voces de la Frontera estimates there are about 180,000 voters among the state鈥檚 Hispanics, nearly 40% of whom live in Milwaukee. Most are of Mexican origin, followed by Puerto Ricans.
And 46% of Latino registered voters consider themselves independent, according to pollster Charles Franklin of Marquette University Law School. His aggregate polling data over the last two years shows that Wisconsin Latino voters fall about halfway between whites and Blacks on political issues 鈥� and 71% identify as Christian.
鈥淧olitical parties can鈥檛 take this population for granted,鈥� said Felipe Hinojosa, a professor at Texas A&M University who studies the connection between religion and politics among Latinos.
He finds the centrality of faith to many Hispanics鈥� daily life doesn鈥檛 automatically make them Republican, but being an ethnic minority doesn鈥檛 reflexively make them Democratic, either.
Little wonder that bilingual canvassers were door-knocking last week across Milwaukee鈥檚 south side. They came from both Voces de la Frontera Action, which endorses Democrats, and Operaci贸n Vamos (鈥渙peration let鈥檚 go,鈥� in Spanish), the Republican Party鈥檚 new Hispanic outreach organization.
Walking past taquerias and historic churches, founded by Central European immigrants and now attended largely by Mexican faithful, the canvassers stopped at modest, single-family homes, many with Halloween decorations but no campaign signs.
Carrying Voces鈥� flyers promoting 鈥減ro-immigrant, pro-working class鈥� candidates 鈥� the Wisconsin Democrats running for statewide office 鈥� Deisy Espana, a 20-year-old college student, said the 鈥渦nfair鈥� treatment her undocumented parents suffered motivates her activism.
But 鈥淟atinos are switching over because of the lack of fulfilled promises,鈥� she added, especially on immigration. Voces founding director, Christine Neumann-Ortiz, said she feared disenchanted Latinos might not vote at all.
Vamos canvassers faced a different kind of challenge with uncommitted Hispanic voters.
鈥淔olks on the ground hear, 鈥楴o one ever reached out to us before鈥� or 鈥業 didn鈥檛 expect Republicans to reach out to us,鈥欌�� said Ana Carbonell, a consultant for Hispanic outreach with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which launched Vamos efforts this midterm season in nine key states, including Wisconsin.
In a late September poll by the Pew Research Center, more Latinos said they felt that the Democratic Party 鈥渨orks hard to earn Latinos鈥� vote鈥� and 鈥渃ares about Latinos鈥� than the Republican Party.
The historic lack of outreach to the Latino community leaves Hispanic voters to 鈥渂undle鈥� their own issues, often based on faith, instead of buying into an 鈥渋deological package鈥� from either party, said Ali Valenzuela, an American University professor of Latino politics. That can benefit Republicans when the focus is on the economy, as in these midterms.
Since April, Vamos in Wisconsin has contacted more Hispanic voters there than over the last three election cycles combined 鈥� voters like the woman who chucklingly told two Vamos canvassers last week, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e in the wrong neighborhood.鈥�
鈥淚 can always learn more,鈥� she nevertheless added, taking their flyers.
Nearby, Artemio Martinez, a construction worker from Mexico married to a U.S. citizen, said he was grateful Vamos knocked on his door.
As his 2-year-old daughter played with the bilingual flyer listing Republican statewide candidates under 鈥溌quipo Ganador!鈥� 鈥� the 鈥渨inning team,鈥� described first as 鈥減ro-faith鈥� and 鈥減ro-family鈥� 鈥� Martinez said he hadn鈥檛 planned on voting.
鈥淏ut if the senator (Johnson) will do something about this,鈥� he added, referring to the crime and drug use he sees all around the neighborhood, 鈥淲e will bring our support and vote so that things can change in the community.鈥�
Working on new siding for his white home, Noah Ledezma also said he wasn鈥檛 sure if he would vote. He supported Republicans in the past, because he feels the party is more aligned with his Christian faith and family values.
But now he believes that no matter who鈥檚 in office, life keeps getting harder for working class people like him 鈥� born of Mexican immigrants, the father of five works in construction while his wife is a schoolteacher.
鈥淎ll they鈥檙e doing is bickering,鈥� he said of politicians. 鈥淵ou have to see the change. You have to see them working together.鈥�
The Vamos canvassers and their literature didn鈥檛 sway him. But what might is if Johnson showed up in person to take 鈥渙pen questions鈥� on a crucial topic like education.
鈥淚t鈥檚 different when you see them out here,鈥� Ledezma said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 say I ask 鈥� 鈥楽enator, what are you going to do that鈥檚 going to be different?鈥� 鈥� And you鈥檙e hearing it from the horse鈥檚 mouth 鈥� I can say, 鈥業鈥檓 going to hold accountable. Okay, you have my vote.鈥欌��
鈥斺赌�
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Giovanna Dell'orto, The Associated Press
