Koch Group Attacks Biden on the Economy, Hoping to Engage Latino Voters
Libre, part of the political network created by the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers, on Monday will unveil a seven-figure voter engagement effort and ad campaign targeting members of Congress who have supported what it calls President Biden’s “punitive economic policies.”
The campaign, one of the most expansive undertaken by the group, will include digital ads, public events at Hispanic grocery stores and restaurants and a new Spanish language website criticizing “Bidenomics,” a term that conservatives have adopted to attack Mr. Biden’s economic policies.
Despite a run of positive economic data, including strong job growth and record unemployment, the economy has been a stubborn weakness for President Biden and Democrats, particularly among Black and Latino voters. Leaders at Libre, which gave The New York Times an early look at the plans, said they were focused on attracting Latinos on what they think is a winning issue for Republicans at a time when their party is seeking to increase its appeal to Hispanic voters.
“Bidenomics is devastating Latino families’ savings, quality of life and their ability to plan for the future,” Jose Mallea, Libre’s chief executive, said in a statement. “To reverse this trend, it’s critical that Latino families learn what overspending and overregulating are doing to our country’s economy — and prosperity.”
Libre, which describes itself as a center-right organization, said its aim was to hold lawmakers accountable for supporting policies that the group believes have contributed to high inflation and rising costs for food, utilities and other living expenses. It is targeting more than 20 congressional Democrats in more than a dozen states, including key presidential battlegrounds like Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania. The group rolled out a similar effort with an anti-“Bidenomics” message last year, but organizers said this campaign would be much larger in scope.
Latinos are projected to number about 36.2 million eligible voters, or nearly 15 percent of the American electorate, according to the latest analysis by the Pew Research Center. The demographic will be crucial in states like Nevada and Arizona, where they make up roughly one in four eligible voters, and Hispanic voters are also expected to play a decisive role in the battle for control of the House.
