A Latino Bloc Of Their Own

Demographics ▶ The Koch brothers are nurturing Hispanic conservatives ▶ “We want those people to get out and vote”

Lisa Meklas, a 30-year-old insurance underwriting assistant in Charlotte, is exactly the kind of person the Libre Initiative wants to get excited about the conservative movement. A firstgeneration American whose parents came from Cuba, Meklas is a registered Republican who says she’s against tax increases. When canvassers knocked on her door on March 12 and asked whom she planned to support in North Carolina’s March 15 primary, she was candid: “Anybody but Trump would be my actual answer.”

The Libre Initiative courts support among Latinos such as Meklas for reducing the size of government, rolling back Obamacare, and promoting school voucher programs. Since 2011, Libre—a nonprofit funded in part by groups affiliated with the conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch—has opened offices in 10 states, including Arizona, Florida, and Texas. It had a budget