Latina Republican Already Being Called the GOP’s Answer to Ocasio-Cortez

Former Trump administration adviser and current congressional candidate Catalina Lauf denies that she’s running for office as a counter-balance to Democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but as a 26-year-old Latina conservative, the comparisons are all but inevitable. Lauf appeared on Fox News this week to pump up interest in her Illinois campaign, where she’s ready to fight for the values she’s developed as a second-generation American: The entrepreneurial spirit, cultural unity, and a love for the United States.

“I’m not anti-anyone,” Lauf said when asked about AOC. “I’m pro-America. But if there’s a contrast, it’s that I’m driven by a love for my country, not a hate for everything it stands for.”

The comparisons, though, are unlikely to subside – particularly since Lauf would unseat AOC as the youngest woman ever elected to Congress if she were to win the seat next November. In a video posted to Twitter, she highlighted her “diverse” background as a strength of both her candidacy and the American way of life.

“Someone like me doesn’t fit the mold. These days, we’re told our skin color, our gender and our heritage determine who we are,” Lauf said in her announcement video. “If that’s the case, I would be impossible, but I’m not impossible. I’m a product of the American Dream.”

Asked by “Fox & Friends” if she has any reluctance supporting President Trump’s immigration policies given that she is the daughter of a Guatemalan immigrant herself, Lauf was unequivocal.

“He’s not a racist,” Lauf said of the president. “People like my mom and my grandmother and many other Hispanic-Americans who have come here legally feel so insulted by that, because they did it the right way. And there’s a process for it. And you should be a law-abiding citizen. President Trump is doing his best to protect this country, and we should be enforcing immigration laws.”

That message not only puts her at odds with Ocasio-Cortez but with the Democrat she’s hoping to unseat next year. Incumbent Congresswoman Lauren Underwood squeaked out a victory in 2018, but since then she has taken a sharp turn to the left, especially when it pertains to immigration. Her questioning of Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan went viral in May when she recklessly accused border patrol officials of “intentionally” causing the deaths of migrant children.

Lauf said she would concentrate on informing voters how “extremely liberal Lauren Underwood is,” and she mocked her “sad attempts to be one of the AOC Squad members.”

Could be there’s a new Squad coming to Congress next year – one that actually appreciates and celebrates the American dream. We’d definitely be down for that.