Fiery Texas Anti-Immigration Candidate Dan Patrick Wants To Appeal To Latinos

*If you’re outside of Texas and you don’t know who Dan Patrick is, think Pete Wilson, from California, and put the Tea Party behind him. Patrick has called the undocumented an “alien invasion,” he’s accused them of bringing “third world diseases” like leprosy and tuberculosis into the U.S., he opposes a path to citizenship and in-state tuition for DREAMers, and now he wants Latinos to like him. This is good, for Texas Democrats. His opponent in the Texas Lt. Governor’s race is a Latina, Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, whose campaign is determined t mobilize the Latino vote for the November election. Keep an eye on this race. VL

By Alex Ura, Texas Tribune/Huffington Post

State Sen. Dan Patrick’s victory over incumbent David Dewhurst in the Republican runoff for lieutenant governor on Tuesday night came as no surprise.

And while the conciliatory tone that marked his victory speech — in which he pledged to make inroads with Hispanics — sounded nothing like the fiery immigration rhetoric voters are accustomed to, political observers say it’s an approach Patrick will have to take in a general election battle against Leticia Van de Putte, a Latina state senator from San Antonio.

“Before you can get someone’s vote, you have to respect them enough to go talk with them and explain who you are,” Patrick said Tuesday after election returns showed he had overwhelmingly defeated Dewhurst. “It won’t be overnight, but it’s going to start tomorrow morning.”

Patrick’s race against Van de Putte, who has criticized the Houston senator for calling the influx of undocumented immigrants from Mexico an “illegal invasion,” could serve as a test case for both parties to gauge their outreach and appeal to an increasingly crucial voting bloc.

Click HERE to read the full story.

[Photo courtesy DanPatrick.org]

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