Non-White Republicans have been dismissed and demonized by Democrats and their mainstream media allies simply because they favor conservative views while simultaneously being Black or Hispanic, and they say they've had enough.
"It's unbelievable to see the media treat us this way," Republican candidate for Congress in Texas' 28th District Cassy Garcia told Fox News Digital.
As the midterms finally come to a close with Election Day next week, they're taking stock of some of the coverage they've seen from mainstream outlets and pundits. And it's often not been pretty.
Garcia believes many media members simply assume Black and Hispanic Americans should be Democrats. She pointed to ABC News’ "The View" co-host Sunny Hostin saying earlier this year that a Black Republican was an "oxymoron" and she didn't "understand" Black or Latino conservatives as a key example.
"We saw that play out, right, with The New York Times when they interviewed me, Monica and Mayra [Flores], and they called us ‘far-right Latinas’ because we grew up in a conservative household, because we went to church. And so when they talk about this oxymoron about Black conservatives, at the end of the day, we are conservatives… we love this country so much."
De La Cruz believes Hostin’s "oxymoron" remark proves how "out of touch these elitist Democrat liberals" in the media really are.
"They don't realize that the everyday American is myself and Cassy Garcia," Texas House candidate Monica De La Cruz told Fox News Digital.
"I think that the liberal media has just gone so far to the left and out of touch with the everyday American that they don't realize that they have become offensive to people just like me," De La Cruz said. "People don't want to hear that garbage from them because they don't relate, and it's just simply not true, and it's offensive."
The New York Times offended Hispanic conservatives earlier this year when it covered Rep. Mayra Flores, R-Texas, Garcia and De La Cruz as the "rise of the far-right Latina." On Sunday, Atlanta-area pastor Jamal Bryant called Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker the "lowest caricature of a stereotypical broken Black man as opposed to somebody who is educated and erudite and focused." When the insult was covered by USA Today, it wasn’t painted as a disparaging remark. Instead, the paper labeled the comments "fiery" and put a spotlight on congregants who "cheered, clapped and nodded heads" in the church's pews.
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Fox News contributor Leo Terrell believes "non-White conservatives will never change the left-wing narrative of them" and the rhetoric used to describe Walker would not be tolerated if he were a Democrat.
"The left needs the minority vote to support their false narrative. I.e. there is systemic racism and institutionalized racism and White supremacy that exists among White conservatives. Therefore, minorities need the left to protect them from the White Bogeyman," Terrell told Fox News Digital.
"The statement by the pastor is example of insulting minority conservatives at the request of white liberals," Terrell added. "White liberals use minorities to justify their own racism."
Far-left figures like Jemele Hill and Elie Mystal have also disparaged Walker with racially tinged remarks; the latter said he was an example of what Republicans want from their "Negroes." It's not been a smooth campaign by any stretch, as Walker has been hit with accusations he paid for multiple abortions in the past, and his son Christian publicly accused him of violence and being a hypocrite about family values. Walker, a former football star, has denied particularly lurid accusations of violence and said he's been transparent about his past struggles with mental health.
Recently launched media outlet Semafor published quotes last week by Dan Sanchez, a Democrat who lost a special election in June, in which he said Rep. Flores appealed to "the Hispanic, uneducated voter" simply because she was from Mexico.
Garcia called Sanchez’s comment "elitist nonsense" and believes the mainstream media enables this type of rhetoric about non-White conservatives, but feels voters are finally taking notice of the hypocrisy.
"The media… they’re upset that Hispanics are actually waking up," Garcia said. "The misconception of things that they say in the media or Dan Sanchez or these comments, you know, people are paying attention to them, and so I'm talking to voters every single day. I'm telling you, they're fed up, and they're ready for change."
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De La Cruz, who faces progressive Democrat Michelle Vallejo in Texas’ newly redrawn 15th Congressional District, and Garcia also feel slighted by local coverage of their campaigns. They feel local outlets have fawned over their Democratic opponents but largely ignore Hispanic conservatives fighting to turn South Texas red.
"Local media continues to give my socialist opponent front page time. They attend her events and speak so highly of her socialist views," De la Cruz said. "Yet they will not attend our events. They failed to attend an event with Nikki Haley that we had. We offered them opportunity to meet with [National Republican Congressional Committee chair Tom] Emmer in a one-on-one interview. And guess what? They just couldn't find a reporter to come and cover these events."
Garcia said "Monica is spot on" with her criticism of the Rio Grande Valley’s local media.
"We've seen that for so long. And the fact that we are gaining national attention for these races, the local media will not cover any of our races," Garcia said, adding that local papers have passed on op-eds she wrote.
"But they will cover my opponent, Henry Cuellar," Garcia said. "It's absolutely disgusting. You know, we are females, we're leaders in our communities, and we are making headway in these districts. And the fact that our local media won't even turn out to cover any of our stories… you can't tell me there's not a reporter that will cover, that wants to cover, this race and wants to talk to the voters on why they're switching their vote from Democrat to Republican."
Cuellar recently took heat from the right when National Review published a feature about the Democrat previously accepting donations from the family of a Mexican drug cartel conduit. The feature reminded readers that "the story never garnered national attention and largely disappeared after Cuellar’s campaign apparently donated the money to charity," but Garcia and De La Cruz believe it would have ballooned into a full-blown scandal if Cuellar was a Republican.
"They let this go under the rug, and it’s not fair," Garcia said. "South Texas needs a leader who will focus on the economy… not a career politician who was auditioning for the next season of ‘Narcos.’"
De La Cruz said the media is "completely biased" against Republicans.
"Had I done -- had Cassie Garcia done that, we would be plastered not only on the front page, but the second and third page as well," she said.
Americano Media host Dania Alexandrino, who walked away from the conservative Miami-based, Spanish-language radio station Radio Mambi ahead of a planned takeover by a George Soros-linked liberal group, has also noticed hypocrisy when it comes to Republicans who happen to be minorities.
"Non-white Republicans are vilified by the mainstream media because the mainstream media is lazy. It's so much easier to repeat a given narrative than to actually do some real investigative work," Alexandrino told Fox News Digital.
"Mainstream media is so focused on perpetuating the lie that Hispanics are left leaning, that they don't bother or care to actually get to know Hispanics. They think we're a monolithic group that lacks self-awareness and is unable to think or do on our own. Their only thought of a Latino is that of a victim. And many 2nd and 3rd generation Hispanics have shown that we broke the victimhood cycle and became victors," Alexandrino said.
Terrell, who used to be a Democrat but left the party in 2020 when he felt abandoned by the left, feels Black and Hispanic conservatives need to defend themselves in order to be taken seriously. Otherwise, the mainstream media will continue to use minorities to push a liberal agenda.
"The only way non-White conservatives can change this narrative is to challenge the left in the form of public debates. Personally, I would love to take on every left-wing pundit in a series of national televised debates," Terrell said. "Non-White conservatives need to confront non-White liberals face-to-face without the interference from New York Times, Washington Post, CNN MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC."
