GOP hopefuls seek Cuban exile support in Florida

Several Republican presidential hopefuls have eyed the Cuban exile vote in Florida as critical in winning the state’s primary a week from today. Though the national Latino vote leans towards the rival Democrats, the Cuban-American voting bloc has been strongly Republican and they are expected to make a difference during the closed primary.

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani has focused most of his resources to winning in Florida and he has been actively campaigning there for weeks. He appeared in a Spanish-language ad being played across the state despite his October campaign appearance at a Philadelphia “English-only” steak stand. While other candidates stumped in New Hampshire and Michigan, Giuliani spoke at a Hispanic evangelical Christian church in Miami and held a campaign rally at a Three Kings Day Parade in the Little Havana neighborhood.

Senator John McCain appeared in Little Havana yesterday while flanked by Cuban-American legislators Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Lincoln Diaz-Balart. As he sipped a cortadito at the famed Versailles restaurant, McCain called Hugo Chavez “a threat” to the Americas and said that he would open an investigation against Fidel Castro. However, McCain was ambiguous when asked about the possibility of changing U.S. travel restrictions on Cuba.

Recent poll numbers have given ex-Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney a slight lead in Florida over McCain and Giuliani. Yet Romney is also courting the Cuban exile vote via his bilingual son Craig who narrated an ad in Spanish.

Unlike the other Republican candidates mentioned above, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee has placed little emphasis on Florida and is campaigning elsewhere.

Image- New York Daily News (John McCain drinks Cuban coffee during an appearance in Miami yesterday)

Sources- South Florida Sun-Sentinel, MiamiHerald.com, Guanabee, Wonkette, CBS News, Baltimore Sun, Associated Press, The Latin Americanist, New York Daily News