Cruz battles critics who say he isn't Hispanic enough

Ted Cruz, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks to the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board Friday, Oct. 12, 2012, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle ) Ted Cruz, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks to the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board Friday, Oct. 12, 2012, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle ) Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Cruz battles critics who say he isn't Hispanic enough 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN — If he is elected to the U.S. Senate as expected, Ted Cruz will be Texas' first Hispanic to snag that lofty post and one of the few in that chamber's history, but the state is not exactly abuzz about that ground-breaking aspect of his likely move.

Instead, there have been questions from some about his Hispanic credentials, and political scientists say his background and positions may put him at odds with many Texas Hispanics whose heritage is Mexican and who are more likely to be Democratic.

Cruz, a Republican, and the son of a Cuban immigrant, is aligned with the tea party and opposes the DREAM Act.

"Even the fact that he made it to the general election - that, in and of itself, is ... a history maker for the community," said Jessica Lavariega Monforti, associate professor of political science and assistant dean of the University of Texas-Pan American College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. "Whether the community likes that or not is another question. Oftentimes, we don't get to choose our history makers."

Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa has been unrelenting in his criticism.

"His last name may be Cruz, but there is nothing, not an ounce, about the way he thinks and the way he has led his life that in any way is similar to Hispanics in the state of Texas and all across America," Hinojosa said. "Ted Cruz is as much Hispanic ... as Tom Cruise."

Father's heritage

Cruz, who beat Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst to win the GOP nomination, proudly has talked up his father's story of fleeing Cuba to a life of freedom in the United States. He also has touted his firsts as a Hispanic, including the first to be Texas' solicitor general. While his background is important to the man he is, he said, the GOP does not pigeonhole candidates by ethnicity as he contends Democrats do.

"I didn't run for Senate as 'elect me because I'm the Hispanic guy.' I ran for Senate because I had the strongest conservative record of any candidate," he told the San Antonio Express-News editorial board last month.

Political scientists, who note that Cruz has not run as an "ethnic" candidate, say his Cuban heritage in a state where Mexican-Americans predominate and his stands on issues may curb enthusiasm among some Hispanics about the historical significance of his candidacy. They cite the difference in immigration experiences between those whose way is eased if they are from Cuba and those who find barriers in trying to come from Mexico.

"Yes, it's an historical moment. I think most Latinos in Texas thought, perhaps, it would be a Mexican-American first. The fact that it's not, I think, sort of dampens some of the enthusiasm," said Arturo Vega, associate professor of political science at St. Mary's University. "This is a community that splits two-thirds Democratic and a third Republican. That's just a rule-of-thumb sort of breakout. And so two-thirds ... are not going to be excited about a Republican Cuban, I suppose."

American Dream

Cruz said, "Are there differences between Cuban-Americans and Mexican-Americans and Puerto Ricans and Colombians? Sure. There are all sorts of differences based on national origin. And the shared immigrant experience of coming here with nothing, not speaking English, struggling and working to achieve the American Dream to provide for your family - in my experience, that is a tie that binds us together so powerfully that the differences are focused on only by those partisans hoping to find an issue that inflames."

His sentiment was echoed by Nelson Balido, president of the Border Trade Alliance, who is of Cuban heritage and is acquainted with Cruz and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. "When you're talking about (Cubans) not being able to know what Mexicans go through, I don't think that's the case at all. We've all, at certain levels at one time or another, experienced some kind of discrimination. When you have Hispanics looking down at other Hispanics, that's a problem in itself," Balido said. "To say he (Cruz) doesn't represent us because he's not Mexican, it's more like he doesn't represent us because he's not a Democrat."

Important milestone

Lavariega Monforti said the fact that Texas appears poised to elect its first Hispanic U.S. senator is "absolutely" an important milestone despite any questions some raise.

"And I think that diversity, political diversity is good for any community," she said. "I don't know that the policies that he wants to put in place will necessarily help Latino communities in Texas, but from this purely sort of descriptive representation point of view, I think it's a good thing."

State Rep. Aaron Peña, of Edinburg, a Democrat-turned-Republican who did not run for re-election, said "highly offensive" comments by Hinojosa play on divisions within the community. He questioned making an issue of people's ethnicity because of their assimilation into the mainstream U.S. culture.

"Who in the hell made these people the guardians of culture?" he said. "It's hard to communicate to a non-Hispanic audience the offense that is made here. But it is a base attempt to reach the ugliest part of our human nature, to despise people because of their racial and ethnic origins."

If Cruz wins, Lavariega Monforti said, he will carry "a huge weight on his shoulders, because, even though he has not necessarily run as a Hispanic candidate, he will be treated as Hispanic" in the Senate.

"He can't leave that at the door," she said. "Whether he's successful or not, his ethnicity will be part of the conversation about why he was either successful or unsuccessful."

jgonzalez@express-news.net

pfikac@express-news.net

Twitter: @pfikac