McCain On the Air With Spanish TV Ad
Today, John McCain released his first Spanish-language general election TV ad, which will air in battleground state New Mexico.
It's the same ad that he released last week in English but with a Spanish soundtrack. released last Friday. "62487," which is the title of the ad, was also McCain's official Navy identification number.
Images of McCain as a POW along with speeches and primary night wins with flying confetti cross the screen while the announcer in the ad calls McCain "the American president we have been waiting for."
While Spanish language television ads are new for McCain, his camp insists his interest in Hispanic voters is not.
"He's always been clear that the Hispanic vote is extremely important to him. His positions on issues like education, the economy and others resonate with Hispanic voters and we continue to ask for their vote and we will campaign aggressively for it," said press secretary Brooke Buchanan.
McCain ran Spanish language ads over the radio before January's Florida primary and won the Hispanic vote there. Buchanan also points out that McCain comes from a border state and hopes to expand his relationship with Hispanics across the country.
Back in December while courting votes in Florida, McCain said he thought he had a good chance of winning the Hispanic vote. "Well, I am from the southwest. We have strong relations with the Hispanic community. I got 70 percent of the Hispanic vote in my last re-election. I understand the community and their priorities extremely well," he said.
McCain also noted concern about the impression some may have that the Republican party is anti-Hispanic. "We are the party we think, of the Hispanics. Small businesses, less regulation, lower taxes, pro-military and so we've got to re-emphasize that message."
Campaign sources tell CBS news they will have more Spanish-language ads in the near future.
"Don't be surprised if you see it in other swing states in coming weeks and months," the McCain campaign source said.