Bernie Sanders Floods Airwaves in Florida Hoping to Land Latino Vote
Bernie Sanders' campaign is running a lengthy Spanish-language advertisement on Univision in hopes of attracting a greater share of the Latino vote.
The ad features a Hispanic worker, who fights back tears over a two-minute segment of the video as she reflects on her life of low wages working the tomato fields in Florida. She eventually says, "Voy a luchar mientras." ["I will always fight."]
Several media outlets have reported the ad is part of a blitz, costing several hundred thousand dollars, through which the Sanders' campaign is blanketing the airwaves in Miami, Orlando, Phoenix and Tucson.
Across the political landscape, the strategy is viewed as nontraditional. But with the critical Florida primary set for March 15 and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton already holding a sizable advantage, the Sanders campaign is pulling out all the stops.
Sanders Produced Similar Video With Daughter of Eric Garner
The ad is similar to one the campaign recently released featuring the daughter of Eric Garner, the victim of police violence in New York. Garner was killed in 2014 in a scuffle with police near his Staten Island home, sparking widespread protests against police abuse.
In the ad, Garner's daughter Erica tells the story of her father, with Sanders only interjecting at the midway point of the footage.
In the more recent video, Sanders reflects on a 2008 trip he made to the small Florida town of Immokalee, where he discovered harsh conditions he described as a "human tragedy." But, the ad centers not on Sanders' tale, but on the plight of a Mexican immigrant named Udelia.
Udelia narrates in Spanish with English subtitles. She reflects on her life as a mother. She also highlights the difficulties and abuses she and other workers are forced to endure in the tomato fields where they all toil.
The ad goes on to explain workers are routinely denied water and bathroom breaks and are forced to survive on wages so low they can't afford food for their families. Three minutes into the five-minute ad, Sanders chimes in, as a 2015 speech he gave at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials blares in the background.
Clinton Maintains Lead in Florida
A recent Quinnipiac University poll showed Sanders trailing Clinton 59 to 33 percent in Florida with just over a week remaining before voters there take to the polls. Researchers also found Clinton leading among virtually every demographic, including holding a double-digit lead among those who describe themselves as very and somewhat liberal.
One of Clinton's biggest cushions of all comes among Democratic voters who say they want a candidate with the right experience. In that category, she leads Sanders by a staggering 87 to 9 percent.
The poll also found 54 percent of Sanders supporters have an unfavorable view of the former senator from New York.
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