Columba Bush Connecting With Hispanic Voters Through New Twitter Account
Summer isn’t the only season about to start: the 2016 presidential campaign season has finally arrived.
And in late May, Columba Bush, the former First Lady of Florida and wife of the Republican establishment front runner candidate Jeb Bush, joined social media for the first time. Columba was born in Mexico, and Republican strategists say she could be key in helping her husband reach out to Hispanic voters, who lean Democrat. The normally private Columba created accounts on Twitter and Instagram this month, using the handle @ColumbaBush. Media experts say social media is one of the best ways for politicians and companies to reach Hispanic Americans. Not only is the Latino community the fastest-growing demographic in the U.S., but one in four Millennials is Hispanic. Plus, studies show that Hispanics are more active on social media than any other race, particularly Hispanic Millennials. According to the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project, 72% of Americans use social media, but more than 80% of Hispanics use the medium regularly. Furthermore, 68% of Hispanics say they use Facebook and Twitter, while only 58% of total Americans do. In the last two years, 83% of marketers say that social media sites like Facebook are “critical” to their business strategy, a trend that carries over into politics. Although former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has not officially announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination, Columba’s emergence on social media is a sure sign of his strategy, political experts say. Columba could play a crucial role in outreach to Latino Americans for Jeb Bush, who has had trouble attracting Latino voters like other GOP candidates. The Hispanic vote is considered crucial to 2016 victory by both parties. So far, Columba has used her accounts to update followers and supporters about her philanthropic and political appearances. In the first week she was online, the former First Lady gathered a few thousand followers per update. |