FLORIDA/LATINOS/MIKE PENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VENEZUELA: “Vice President Mike Pence and top Florida Republicans plan to rally Friday [2-1-19] in Miami to support Venezuela’s new interim president and highlight the Trump administration’s aggressive approach to the ongoing political crisis. But it’s also an opportunity to open a door with Hispanic voters in a state that’s critical to the president’s reelection. The Hispanic vote here is far from monolithic: About 17 percent of Florida’s active registered voters are Hispanic, about a third of whom are estimated to be of Cuban-American descent and a third of Puerto Rican descent, followed by those whose families have roots throughout Latin America: Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Venezuela, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. Between ongoing strife in Nicaragua under Daniel Ortega and the unrest in Venezuela under dictator Nicolás Maduro — which has also led to troubles in neighboring Colombia — Republicans see a window to send a hardcore anti-socialist message — one that, some say, helped the GOP win just enough of the overall Hispanic vote in November’s midterm elections to keep Florida’s governorship in Republican hands and take a Senate seat from the Democrats.”
–Marc Caputo, “Trump Venezuela policy scores in Florida,” Politico, January 30, 2019 6:29 pm