MIAMI – The Republican presidential rivals courted influential
Hispanic voters in South Florida on Friday with promises to
improve immigration laws and focus on Latin America, as a new
poll suggested that Mitt Romney is regaining his edge in the
first mega-state to deliver a decision.
A survey by Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University – conducted
just days ahead of Tuesday's primary voting – found Romney
leading the once-surging Newt Gingrich by 38 percent to 29
percent in what has become a two-man race, though former
Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum picked up the endorsement of
the Latin Builders Association after he and Gingrich spoke to
the group.
Romney and Gingrich appeared hours apart before a crowd at the
center-right Hispanic Leadership Network, where Sen. Marco
Rubio (R., Fla.) preceded them onstage. They largely refrained
from the sharp attacks that have defined the campaign, though
they continued to disagree on what to do with the estimated 11
million people who live in the United States illegally.
Without mentioning a Gingrich attack ad that the campaign
withdrew after complaints from Rubio, Romney sought to defend
himself from the ad's accusation that he was “anti-immigrant.”
“We are not anti-immigrant. We are not anti-immigration,” said
Romney, who during Thursday night's debate had called the
suggestion “repulsive” as he aggressively hit back at Gingrich.
“We are the pro-immigration, pro-legality, pro-citizenship
nation.”
He and Gingrich clashed sharply at the debate, but Romney
appeared Friday to be riding a wave from his pull-no-punches
performance, and he seemed relaxed and jovial before the
Hispanic group, which gave him sustained rounds of applause and
a standing ovation when he pledged to “help Cuba become free.”
He also said he would appoint a presidential envoy responsible
for democracy and freedom in Latin America.
He defended his call for those who are in the United States
illegally to be given a temporary status and then return to
their home countries to apply for citizenship.
“Other people call that self-deportation,” he said, adding,
“We're not going to go out and round up people in buses and
send them home.”
Gingrich sought to draw a line of distinction, saying he had a
“big disagreement” with Romney. Gingrich, who had mocked
Romney's mention of “self-deportation” at Monday's debate in
Tampa, said that “a very significant number” of “young,
unattached” undocumented immigrants would go back to their
countries and apply for a guest-worker program under Romney's
proposal.
“Self-deportation in fact works for those groups,” he
acknowledged, but not for everyone. “The idea that a
grandmother is not going to be supported, the idea that she's
going to self-deport.. . . This is not a solution.”
With Hispanics one of the fastest-growing voting blocs, some
Republicans, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, have
cautioned against harsh anti-immigration rhetoric. Gingrich
acknowledged that he didn't think sweeping immigration change
was possible, given the failures of previous Republican and
Democratic administrations.
Such legislation, he said, would face “too many enemies.”
Romney picked up the endorsement Friday of Puerto Rico Gov.
Luis Fortuno, a key asset in reaching Puerto Rican Republicans
in Central Florida.
He told the Hispanic Leadership Network hours before the
endorsement that he hoped Puerto Ricans would follow Fortuno's
lead and vote for statehood for the island.
Santorum, along with his traditional stump-speech pledges to
lower taxes and roll back Obama regulations, told the story of
his grandfather, an Italian immigrant who worked in
Pennsylvania coal mines until he was 72.
“Those were the hands that dug freedom for me in America,” he
said, praising Miami's Cuban American community for its
“passion for freedom.”
Santorum then vowed to take a hard line against any alliance
between Iran and Venezuela, which he described as “Cuba Part
B.” Although he's lagging in the polls, Santorum's speech won
over the builders' board.
“We are most interested in supporting a candidate that is going
to reinvigorate the economy,” said Bernie Navarro, the Latin
Builders Association's president.
Romney pursued a two-track strategy Friday. While he engaged
President Obama over policy and refrained from sharp criticism
of his rivals, surrogates went on the attack.
Florida's Bush blasted Gingrich for criticizing Romney's hiring
of former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's staffers, calling the
criticism “ridiculous.” Crist left the GOP to run as an
independent against Rubio in 2010. Rubio won.
“That's not a serious accusation,” Bush told National Review
Online about Gingrich's allegations. “Candidates win elections.
I'm not a big Charlie Crist fan, as you recall, but these guys
shouldn't have that moniker attached to them, as if Gov. Romney
is part of some evil plot.”
The latest Quinnipiac poll suggests that Romney, who has more
money than Gingrich and has been able to hammer him in a series
of attack ads, is opening up a considerable lead over Gingrich.
The poll, conducted Tuesday through Thursday among 580 likely
Republican primary voters, had Texas Rep. Ron Paul at 14
percent, followed by Santorum at 12 percent. It has a margin of
error of 4.1 percentage points.
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GOP rivals pursue Hispanic voters