The Republican National Committee is closing several community centers across the country that target minority groups, such as Latino and Black voters.
The latest community center closed in Texas is a Hispanic outreach on San Antonio’s Southwest Side, according to the San Antonio Report.
According to the Daily Beast, the RNC says the closures will curb excessive spending and would help to steer more money to Donald’s Trump’s campaign.
For its part, the Democratic Party has said that the GOP’s moves show it no longer cares about courting Latino voters. President Joe Biden’s campaign said the RNC’s minority outreach efforts were “hollow” and “cheap distractions from the poster boy for modern racism who is running to undermine the progress and success of our communities.”
The shuttered Hispanic outreach center is located in the Highlands neighborhood and served as a key rallying point for Cassy Garcia, a congressional candidate who lost in the Nov. 8, 2022, general election for Texas’ 28th Congressional District.
Garcia lost to incumbent Henry Cuellar by 13 points, showing that the 28th will have difficulty turning red. For this reason, the GOP decided that some districts would not benefit from an outreach center.
The RNC clarified that these closures were part of a strategic realignment following leadership changes and redistricting. They will maintain an outreach center in South Texas to support U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz in Texas’ 15th Congressional District, a district Republicans successfully flipped in 2022.
Though the RNC has closed all but five of its community centers, it also said it would double down on its efforts by opening 40 new centers in Latino, black, Jewish, Asian, Native American, and veteran communities across the country. However, according to the Daily Beast, a source close to the RNC said the institution has decided to scrap that effort in order to focus on Trump voters.
These closures follow the takeover of the RNC by Trump allies. According to the Associated Press, more than 60 people have been laid off, including senior staff in the policy, data and communications departments.
