During his speech Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention, State Sen. Ralph Alvarado urged Hispanics to vote for Donald Trump.
“Hispanics believe what Republicans believe,” he said. “Traditional family values, church, faith in God, the dignity of work and the opportunity of self-sufficiency that comes from a free society and a limited government.”
Alvarado, a Republican from Winchester and a physician, is the first Hispanic elected to the Kentucky General Assembly and has garnered a reputation for his opposition to the Affordable Care Act.
He delivered part of his speech in Spanish, saying that Hispanics escaped countries full of corruption and political dishonesty.
“Please don’t let this misery occur in this country as well,” Alvarado said in Spanish. “Vote with me, vote Republican and vote for Donald Trump.”
Trump has not polled well with Hispanics after making inflammatory comments about illegal immigrants throughout his campaign.
A Gallup poll from March showed that 77 percent of U.S. Hispanics had an unfavorable opinion of Trump.
Alvarado accused President Barack Obama of dividing the country on race issues and pushing to restrict religious freedoms and 2nd Amendment rights.
In a moment of near-criticism of Trump, Alvarado favorably contrasted the New York businessman against presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
“Americans face a very important decision: do we want someone who is brutally honest, perhaps to a fault? Or do we want someone who is brutally dishonest?” Alvarado asked.
Trump has proposed building a wall along the southern border of the United States with Mexico. He’s also said he wants to deport the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants currently living in the U.S.
Alvarado’s father is from Costa Rica and his mother is from Argentina. He previously supported Sen. Rand Paul’s bid for president and later Sen. Marco Rubio.
He concluded his speech with a shot at Clinton:
“Hillary Clinton: you have failed the Hispanic community and you don’t deserve our vote.
After the speech, Republican Gov. Matt Bevin tweeted:
“So proud of @Alvarado4Senate who absolutely crushed it tonight at #RNCinCLE! #WeAreKY”
