Virginia’s Immigrants, and All Thinking Voters, Say No to Ted Cruz

Texas’ Worst Export Not Ready to Unite Americans.
 
Virginia families opposed to virulent anti-immigrant Senator Ted Cruz came out strong today as he used the state as a backdrop to launch a flight-of-fancy presidential bid.
“It is bad enough that Texas and the US Senate have suffered through Ted Cruz’s hate-filled rhetoric,” said Ivania Castillo, a Virginia voter from Woodbridge.  “We don’t want him even visiting Virginia let alone representing our state and the rest of the country in the White House.”
Given Cruz’s political demagogy of immigrant families, Virginia couldn’t be a less likely launch pad for national office. The Virginia GOP has increasingly lost ground as the state has moved into the safely swing category through its growing diversity. According to University of Virginia research, the state of Virginia is expected to receive 800,000 new residents each decade adding to an already robust number of Hispanic, African American and Asian voters. And Virginia voters support reform.
A 2014 poll sponsored by Republicans for Immigration Reform, Alliance for Citizenship and the Partnership for a New American Economy demonstrated that an average of 67.76% of respondents in 29 states including Virginia strongly or somewhat supported the bipartisan immigration reform legislation proposed in the Senate and roundly opposed by Cruz.
According to another poll, conducted by Latino Decisions for America’s Voice, which surveyed Latino voters in Virginia, 64% of respondents stated that immigration was either the most or one of the most important factors when voting during the presidential election of 2012. Moreover, the poll results showed that 70% of Latino voters in Battleground districts, including Virginia, have disagreed with the way that Republicans in Congress are currently handling immigration policy.
“Demography is destiny and without a turnaround on policy, Virginia Republicans confront political oblivion,” said Lindolfo Carballo, Virginia Director for CASA in Action. “Hosting anti-Latino, anti-immigrant candidates like Ted Cruz is hardly a recipe for survival.”