Several Latinos who voted for Terry McAuliffe for Governor of Virginia on Tuesday said they were doing so because of Republican Ken Cuccinelli’s anti-immigrant point-of-view. In a 2012 radio interview, Cuccinelli, criticizing a D.C. law on pest control, said “It is worse than our immigration policy. You can’t break up rat families…and you can’t even kill ‘em.”
Virginia’s Democratic party denounced the comments in a Spanish-language television ad which Cuccinelli’s campaign said was taken out of context. Judging by interviews with Latino voters on Tuesday, the ad had a strong influence on their decision on who to vote for. Some Latino voters went as far to say that they felt as if Cuccinelli was comparing immigrants to rats.
In addition to the anti-immigrant impression Cuccinelli gave to Latino voters, many also voted for McAluiffe because of his pro-job, pro-healthcare standpoint.
“If you don’t vote, you can’t complain,” said Pedro Delcid, owner of a small remodeling company. “Our people felt persecuted. . . . We are tired that they blame us for everything. It’s up to us to make sure the politicians hear that.”
The votes from these Latinos and other Virginians who supported Terry McAuliffe were heard last night. Terry McAuliffe edged out Ken Cuccinelli, becoming the newest governor of Virginia.
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