Republicans did not see the red wave they were betting on during last year's midterms, so now they're setting their sights on expanding success stories that did break through, such as the big gains they made in South Florida.
The largely conservative Latino community in Miami-Dade County turned red last year for the first time in two decades.
Who are they? The Latino community in South Florida is largely conservative, and includes immigrants from Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela and other Latin American countries.
What's the big deal? South Florida marks a community where politics seemingly never sleeps. And it's also where the political ground game for 2024 is already underway.
Want to learn more? Listen to the NPR Politics podcast episode on how Latino GOP voters have embraced the culture war.
What are people saying?
Casamayor on Democrats:
(Biden) stabbed Cuban Americans in the back ... The Biden administration has betrayed the Cuban Americans ... He has betrayed the Cuban Americans who voted for him.
Cooper on hearing from different Republican Election Committees, or REC, asking about the Miami-Dade County model:
We take that message across across the county and soon will take it across the country as we explain to different RECs and different parties how to build their operations.
Mucarsel-Powell on why Democrats shouldn't give up on Florida:
If you care about the environment, you need to care about Florida. If you care about minority groups, if you care about Latinos, you need to care about Florida. And we've been abandoned.
Gamarra on Republican successes in South Florida:
Republicans understand better the idea of the Latino American dream and Democrats still, for the most part, approach Latinos as part of the civil rights struggle in the United States.
So, what now?
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