For a split second, I thought Andy Biggs had picked a Mexican-born naturalized U.S. citizen as his running mate for governor.
He hadn’t. It turned out to be Sine Kerr’s mother.
“The daughter of an Army combat veteran and a naturalized U.S. citizen from Mexico, Sine Kerr has lived the American Dream,” read Biggs’ press release announcing he had picked Kerr as his lieutenant governor.
How did I get to Kerr being Mexican? That sentence was bolded in red, making it the first thing your eyes landed on.
Whether the notion of Kerr being an immigrant was intentional or just the result of an awkwardly written sentence, it got my attention. More importantly, it shows that Biggs is after Latino voters in his bid to unseat Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in November.
The conservative Republican, who has spent years firmly planted in MAGA orbit, is suddenly highlighting Kerr’s Mexican heritage — something that came as news to many.
Good luck tricking Hispanics, though.
Many Latinos will probably see right through Kerr’s ethnicity because she’s hardly made her being Latina part of her public political identity, if she ever has.
Until now that Biggs needs Hispanics.
Beyond that single sentence in the press release, voters know almost nothing about Kerr’s connection to her mother’s heritage.
What influence did her mother’s immigrant story have on her? What ties, if any, does she have to Mexico or Mexican culture?
Perhaps Republicans will fill in those blanks later.
Arizona Republican Party Chairman Sergio Arellano wasted no time touting her as a Latina — but offered little else.
“A Latina with rural insight and knowledge of the Legislature,” Arellano posted on X.
Latinos make up roughly one-third of Arizona’s population and about 1.2 million are eligible to vote. That means they make up 1 in 4 of the state’s electorate.
In close elections, that’s a voting bloc neither Biggs nor Hobbs can ignore. Don’t forget that Hobbs won the governor’s race four years ago by just 17,000 votes.
Trump made huge gains among Latinos, particularly among men, by focusing on border security and promising to deport the “worst of the worst,” among other things.
But much of that support is gone after Trump’s violent and sometimes deadly immigration crackdown.
According to a recent UnidosUS survey, Latino voters rank wages, housing costs and healthcare among their top four priorities. Immigration ranks fifth, with more than half of respondents saying they believe Trump’s immigration policies will only get worse.
GOP strategist Chuck Coughlin told the Arizona Mirror that Republicans can’t fool voters into believing that any immigrants, even those who go through the proper channels, are safe under Trump and Republican rule.
“We all know now that you can’t follow the rules,’’ Coughlin said. “There are no rules other than, ‘Get out.’”
That leaves Biggs with a challenge.
Many socially conservative Latino voters remain politically persuadable. But merely highlighting Kerr’s heritage won’t cut it. Voters will need real and tangible reasons to back the ticket.
What, exactly, is Biggs offering Latino families beyond Kerr’s apparently forgotten heritage?
Both Biggs and Hobbs have launched Latino coalitions. I’ll have more to say about Hobbs’ effort in another column.
The question is what Biggs is prepared to do to improve the lives of Latinos struggling with rising costs, housing affordability and access to health care.
If Biggs hopes to make inroads with Latino voters, he’ll have to do a lot more than tout Kerr’s ethnicity — something she herself apparently didn’t bother to do until now.
We don’t choose our heritage, but we choose what to do with it. In this case, Kerr’s identity will get some attention, but it alone won’t earn Biggs Hispanic votes.
