Spanish-speaking election experts available at SMU

Clinton appeals to head-over-heart as GOP fight gets nastier 

STEPHANIE MARTIN
samartin@mail.smu.edu

The crux of Hillary Clinton’s case against Bernie Sanders amounts to, “just eat your vegetables and vote for me,” says Martin.

“Clinton will insist that while she understands and even agrees with the passion of Sanders’ supporters, she is the electable candidate and there has to be an element of pragmatism to the movement,” Martin says. “She will also focus much more strongly than Sanders will on the Republican race. She is saying, ‘We’ve come a long way and we can’t go back.’”

The Republican race is a far more complex and volatile affair, says Martin, as Donald Trump and Ted Cruz battle for the outsider vote and Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Chris Christie compete for the Republican establishment’s support.

“The Cruz-Trump feud is really getting nasty,” Martin says. “But Marco Rubio has the most to gain if Christie, Bush and Kasich drop out. If that happens, it will eventually become his nomination.”

Martin speaks Spanish well, but requests questions be presented to her before interviews so she can brush up on the vocabulary she’ll need to answer them.

Martin is an SMU assistant professor of Communication Studies in the Meadows School of the Arts who can discuss:

• economic messages in political campaigns
• political campaign strategy

Republican rhetoric on immigration bodes well for Democrats in November

EVAN McCORMICK
emccormick@smu.edu

In the grand scheme of the presidential race, McCormick doesn’t think either party has a candidate who has transcended their party’s general acceptance by the Latin-American community in the United States.

“The way immigration has become a security issue for the Republican party has alienated most Latino voters, with the exception of Cubans in Florida, who still vote Republican because of their distaste for the Castro regime,” McCormick says. “The Democrats seem to be most well-positioned to have a productive relationship with Mexico and other Latin American countries.

“Like Republicans, Democrats are also looking for policy solutions to undocumented migrants, but with fewer security measures and more long-term cooperation and planning,” McCormick adds.

Evan McCormick is conversationally fluent in Spanish.

McCormick is a resident fellow of the Center for Presidential History at SMU who can discuss:

• border security
• international trade in the Americas
• U.S.-Latin American relations
• international diplomacy