The Republican National Committee says a group founded by actress Eva Longoria called the Latino Victory Project is working as a Democratic National Committee front group, according to a letter obtained by BuzzFeed.
The Latino Victory Project was founded last year by Longoria and DNC finance chair Henry Munoz, and is supposedly aimed at promoting and electing Latino candidates. But the RNC points out that so far it has only supported Democratic candidates:
The letter attacks Muñoz for appearing on MSNBC in front of a DNC banner while promoting a nonpartisan organization. Longoria is also called out for an interview she did with Jorge Ramos, in which she named Latino candidates the Latino Victory Project would support and officials who are having an impact in politics, but did not name any Republicans.
"You didn’t highlight the leadership of Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, who are two of only three Hispanic U.S. senators," the RNC letter reads. "Nor did you mention either of the nation’s Latino governors—Brian Sandoval of Nevada and Susana Martinez of New Mexico—both of whom are Republicans."
In an interview with BuzzFeed, Cristobal Alex, the Latino Victory Project’s president, fired back and questioned whether the RNC really wanted to get into a debate about elevating Latino voices.
"It’s ridiculous that the RNC would question our mission to raise the political participation among Latinos," Alex said. "This sense of justice doesn’t seem to affect them" when it comes to other conservative groups like Crossroads, Americans for Prosperity, or the Libre Initiative, he argued, listing several outside conservative groups that are de facto partisan groups.
Munoz, a well-connected San Antonio Democrat and fundraiser, was profiled in the Washington Free Beacon last year. He has been involved in the campaign to help "turn Texas blue," but some of his projects prior to the DNC were undercut by financial mismanagement and corruption allegations.