Senate rivals Ruben Gallego and Kari Lake ramping up Latino voter outreach efforts

U.S. Senate candidates Ruben Gallego and Kari Lake are increasing efforts to make inroads with Hispanic voters in their bids for retiring Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's seat.

Latino and Hispanic voters are critical in swaying elections after being identified as the second-fastest growing racial and ethnic group since the 2020 election, according to the Pew Research Center. On the state level in Arizona, a quarter of all eligible voters are Latino.

Democratic candidate Gallego launched his first Spanish-language TV ad on Friday to share more with voters about his identity and policy priorities as a son of Hispanic immigrants and a veteran. The 15-second digital and broadcast ad, titled "Campeón," will run during the soccer tournament Copa América that kicked off Thursday.

At least three of the Copa América's games next week are at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale. The Biden-Harris campaign also spent millions on advertisements for the soccer tournament, which is projected this year to attract the most viewers for a Spanish-language TV program on TelevisaUnivision.

Targeting Hispanic voters hasn't been new for Gallego as his campaign has focused on hosting Spanish-speaking events and town halls.

“Growing up, I remember watching soccer matches with my cousins and rooting for superstars like Carlos Valderrama and Hugo Sánchez,” Gallego said. “When Copa America kicks off this week, communities across Arizona will see this ad and know that I will fight for the issues that matter most to them, including cutting costs, protecting abortion rights, and delivering real solutions to the border crisis.”

Republican candidate Lake has taken a different approach to addressing border security in her campaign ads. Lake, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, released a TV ad in May calling out Gallego and President Joe Biden for causing an “invasion” at the border.

Lake also has focused in on securing votes from Hispanic residents, including targeted advertising, door knocking, and retail stops. Lake, whose husband is Hispanic, appeared at an event in May in Nogales and said in a video that “Latinos embody everything I’m fighting for: faith, family and freedom.”

"Ruben Gallego is bad for Hispanic voters: he supports open borders, high taxes, and men playing in women’s sports. Even worse, he worked for a bank that defrauded Latino immigrants AND ran public affairs for a company that was forced to settle in a $2.8 million Medicare fraud investigation," Lake's campaign said Friday in a written statement. "He’s been in Congress for a decade and has only made things worse. Arizonans will reject him in November."

The latest financial campaign records from April show large fundraising gaps among the three candidates for Senate.

Gallego leads in fundraising entering April with $9.6 million in cash.

Lake entered April with $2.5 million and $452,000 in debt. However, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the arm of the party dedicated to electing GOP senators, announced Thursday that it is investing more than $100 million in advertising in four states: Ohio, Nevada, Michigan and Arizona, Politico reported.

Republican candidate Mark Lamb has $254,000 and $117,000 in debt.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Senate candidate Ruben Gallego targets Hispanic voters in TV ad