BOSTON (AP) - Presidential contender Mitt Romney has tapped a prominent Cuban- American Republican in Florida for his first radio ad targeting Spanish-speaking voters. Al Cardenas, former chairman of the Florida Republican Party and a close ally of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, describes Romney as a friend of the Hispanic community and an ally in its drive for a Democratic Cuba.
"It is a difficult time in the world, in the Americas, and in our Cuba in transition," Cardenas says in his native Spanish during the spot, which promotes Romney's speech Friday at a Lincoln Day Dinner in Miami-Dade County. "Mitt Romney understands the dynamic of Cuba."
During an appearance in Florida last month, Romney declared he supported the current U.S. embargo on Cuba to avoid enriching Cuban President Fidel Castro, a Communist dictator he accused of disrupting peace and stability in the region.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a leading rival for the GOP nomination, similarly supports the embargo and has picked up the support of three prominent Cuban-American lawmakers, Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Mario Diaz-Balart, all Florida Republicans.
Romney has enjoyed the backing of several major Bush allies, including Ann Woods Herberger, who is a top Romney fundraiser, and Sally Bradshaw, who formerly worked as chief of staff to the Florida governor.
Last month, Romney announced a 77-person Florida finance committee, including Boca Raton developer Mark Guzzetta and former U.S. Ambassador Mel Sembler of St. Petersburg.
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WASHINGTON (AP)—Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani is planning his first campaign trip to Iowa next month, a sign that he is considering competing in the early voting state where social conservatives dominate the GOP caucuses.
The Giuliani campaign said Tuesday that the former New York City mayor plans a few days of events in the state the week of April 2.
Giuliani leads the crowded GOP field in several national polls. But it's unclear just how much support a pro-abortion rights, pro-gun control, pro-gay rights Republican can get among those attending Iowa's GOP caucuses.
That has led to speculation that Giuliani may skip Iowa's contest to focus on states that would be more amenable to his moderate stance.
In recent weeks, Giuliani has brought on Jim Nussle, a former Iowa congressman and 2006 candidate for governor, as an adviser, and Tony Delgado, a former staffer at the Republican National Committee, to focus on the state.
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WASHINGTON (AP)—Moderate Republicans said Tuesday they are reviving a group aimed at winning over the political center that deserted the GOP in the 2006 midterm elections.
The Republican Leadership Council was founded in 1993 to expand the party's base, but has not been very involved in campaigns since 2003. It's now attempting to recruit candidates that are fiscally conservative, but moderate on social issues.
Former Gov. Christy Whitman of New Jersey, former Sen. John Danforth of Missouri and former Maryland lieutenant governor Michael Steele want to revitalize the RLC, which has a counterpart in the centrist Democratic Leadership Council. The RLC is being combined with Whitman's political action committee IMP-PAC—It's My Party, Too.
"After the losses in 2006, the reaction was overwhelming that we need to get the Republican Party back to its fiscally conservative roots," Whitman said, adding that the GOP needs to be "a little less judgmental."
Republicans lost control of the House and Senate in 2006 when voters rebelled about the Bush administration's war in Iraq and corruption in the GOP-controlled Congress.
Tom Ridge, a former governor of Pennsylvania and Homeland Security secretary, said "inclusiveness" will be an important theme.
"You don't have to agree with me all the time to be a good Republican," Ridge said.
The council will promote Republican candidates at the local, state, and federal levels who favor low taxes, balanced budgets, strong national defense, protection of the environment, and less government interference in individual lives.
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On the Net:
Republican Leadership Council—http://www.republican-leadership.com
Associated Press Writer Will Lester in Washington contributed to this report.
