Latino leaders held a convention, but only one Republican candidate came

Many campaigns cited “scheduling conflicts” for skipping the 32nd annual convention of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO). Instead, at least 13 GOP candidates plan to be in Washington this week to address the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s “Road to the Majority” conference, the latest in a busy series of cattle-call events for social conservatives.

The two programs underscore the dueling priorities for Republican presidential hopefuls: the hot competition to court white evangelicals in the primaries and the imperative for the eventual nominee to improve his or her image among minority voters, especially Hispanics, in next year’s general election. The party’s 2016 candidates have been particularly bedeviled by how to handle immigration reform, which is strongly opposed by parts of the Republican base but broadly favored by Hispanic voters.

“All I can say is that schedules reflect priorities,” said Arturo Vargas, NALEO’s executive director. “Of course they should be here.”