In the home section of the 2024 electionsAfter a racist comment at a Trump rally comparing Puerto Rico to trash, both parties are trying to fan the political flames to burn the opposition in congressional races, in addition to the presidential contest.
In the hours after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe told a racist joke about Puerto Ricans at a rally for former President Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Democrats circulated a list of competitive U.S. House races in which people of Puerto Rican descent make up a large percentage of the population to finish. the electorate.
Meanwhile, Republican operatives on Wednesday tried to capitalize on a gaffe by President Biden in which he used the term “waste‘ to describe the Trump supporter who made the racist joke. But Republicans have accused Mr. Biden of instead calling all Trump supporters “trash” and are trying to tie Democratic congressional candidates to their accusation regarding the president’s words.
The twin controversies are amplifying and shifting closing messages in the final few days before Election Day, amid highly competitive battles for control of the Senate and House of Representatives.
According to a memo obtained by CBS News from Democratic campaign officials, more than 10% of registered voters in Pennsylvania’s competitive 7th District House race are people of Puerto Rican descent. The memo also said that at least 4% of registered voters have ties to Puerto Rico in three competitive House races in New York, two more in Pennsylvania and at least one each in Florida and Connecticut.
Representative Susie Wild, a Pennsylvania Democrat who represents the 7th Congressional District in and around Allentown, has already raised the issue in light of the controversy surrounding the Madison Square Garden rally. Speaking to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “I’m hearing more about this than I’ve heard about almost any other issue this entire campaign season.”
On Long Island, in New York’s competitive 4th District House race, Democratic candidate Laura Gillen added to the firestorm over the racist joke on Tuesday. Representative Nydia Valazquez, a New York Democrat who was born in Puerto Rico, speaking at a Gillen campaign event for small businesses, referred to the controversy and the joke.
Democratic Rep. Jahanna Hayes, who is fighting for a competitive seat in Western Connecticut, posted on social media: “Every person, not just the Puerto Rican community, should be saddened and appalled by the behavior of the Trump rally at MSG. ”
Republicans, meanwhile, are trying to magnify President Biden’s potential blunder on Tuesday.
“The President of the United States Just Smeared Half the Country – Democrats in the House of Representatives can now speak out to disagree or their silence will say everything voters need to know,” Republican Republican Party Representative Richard Hudson, Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. , said a statement.
Rep. Marc Molinaro, a first-term Republican seeking to defend his seat in New York’s 19th Congressional District, posted on social media about Biden’s statement. Molinaro wrote in part, “Biden says if you don’t support Kamala Harris, you’re trash.”
