The Romney campaign announced Wednesday that its Latino outreach team, called "Juntos Con Romney," will be led by three Hispanic Republicans, all of whom said they will remain focused on a message about the economy.
"America can do better. These last four years have seen record unemployment, homes foreclosed, and the middle class struggling like never before," one of the chairmen, former administrator of the Small Business Administration Hector Barreto, said in a statement. "We need a leader who will spur economic growth and reignite the American Dream for all our citizens. That man is Mitt Romney."
The three chairmen -- Barreto, former Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and former Attorney General of Puerto Rico Jose Fuentes -- will join 14 others on Romney's National Advisory Board. There are also four honorary co-chairmen, one of whom is Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), thought to be a possible choice for Romney's running mate.
"We are not better off than we were three and a half years ago when [President Barack Obama] took office. We need to take a new course," Rubio said in the statement from the Romney campaign. "Mitt Romney will bring his economic experience from the private sector and record of creating jobs and lowering spending as governor to Washington and will be able to restore America's promise."
Romney announced his Hispanic steering committee in January.
The announcement of "Juntos Con Romney" comes on the heels of Romney's push, in recent weeks, to increase Hispanic outreach, with ads and web videos targeted at the Latino community. The main message of those videos, and his recent statements on immigration, is that Latinos are disproportionately hurting from the recession. The Obama campaign contends that its policies, including the auto bailout and the stimulus, have helped Latinos and future plans would further that growth.
The full list of Romney's Hispanic steering committee:
National Chairmen:
Secretary Carlos Gutierrez
Jose Fuentes
Hector Barreto
Honorary Co-Chairmen And Co-Chairwomen:Gov. Luis Fortuño (Puerto Rico)
Gov. Brian Sandoval (NV)
Gov. Susana Martinez (NM)
Sen. Marco Rubio (FL)
National Advisory Board:
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL)
Former Sen. Mel Martinez (FL)
Former Gov. Jeb Bush (FL)
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA)
Former Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (FL)
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (FL)
Rep. Raul Labrador (ID)
Rep. Quico Canseco (TX)
Former Interior Secretary and Former Rep. Manuel Lujan (NM)
State Rep. Anitere Flores (FL)
George P. Bush
Rudy Fernandez
Josefina Carbonell
Cari Dominguez