Newt Gingrich's campaign released a new Web ad targeting Hispanic voters Friday as the former Speaker hopes to regain momentum before the Feb. 28 Arizona primary.
As with Gingrich's other ads and messaging of late, the commercial avoids criticism of the other Republican candidates, instead hitting President Obama for not being responsive enough to Hispanic needs.
"For Newt, Hispanic inclusion has been front and center in his campaign since day one," said Sylvia Garcia, Gingrich's Hispanic outreach director, in a statement. "He understands that just as all Americans, Latinos are greatly suffering from the high unemployment rate and empty promises of this administration. They demand a change and know the only candidate that can rebuild the America they love is Newt Gingrich."
The ad features four Hispanic Gingrich supporters who criticize the president's jobs and immigration record and praise the former Speaker for sharing their "conservative values."
"Newt Gingrich is the leader we need to rebuild the America that has given us so much," the individuals say in unison.
Lionel Sosa, a Gingrich adviser, argued that Gingrich was uniquely qualified to rally Hispanic support behind his campain.
"Few people understand the true Hispanic market like Newt does," said Sosa. "He gets Latinos and understands the diversity in language, age and culture."
But Gingrich has stumbled before with his appeals to Hispanic voters. The former Speaker pulled a Spanish-language radio ad airing in Florida critical of Mitt Romney after complaints by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). The ad featured a clip of Romney in which he appeared to praise Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and suggested that he was anti-immigrant. Rubio told the
Miami Herald he thought the ad was out of bounds.
"This kind of language is more than just unfortunate. It's inaccurate, inflammatory, and doesn't belong in this campaign," Rubio said.
Gingrich subsequently pulled the ad, citing "respect" for the popular freshman senator.
Arizona's winner-take-all primary will pose a challenge for the former Speaker, who has seen Romney and Rick Santorum post substantial leads in recent national polls.
