Flores carries soccer theme through first TV campaign ad

Who is Lucy Flores?

Nevada voters watching the World Cup on Spanish-language TV are about to find out.

Assemblywoman Flores, D-Las Vegas, on Monday launched her first TV campaign ad in her bid to become lieutenant governor, a 30-second spot focused on her tough upbringing and aimed at a largely Latino audience.

The ad, which appears below, will run periodically over the next few weeks as the World Cup airs and as the U.S. team tries to make it into the finals.

The commercial called “Yo Soy Flores,” or “I’m Flores” in English shows Hispanic children playing soccer, including several who proclaim they want to be their favorite stars of the sport that draws millions of TV viewers around the world.

“I want to be Leo Messi!” a boy says, referring to Argentina’s national team captain.

“I’m El Chicharito!” says another boy talking about Mexico’s national team player Javier Hernandez Balcazar.

“I’m Lucy Flores!” a girl proclaims.

“Who?” the other kids ask.

The ad narrator sums up Flores’ story, an introduction for many Nevada voters outside her Clark County home base, as the video shows the assemblywoman high-fiving young soccer players on the field.

“Lucy Flores didn’t have it easy,” he says. “Her mom abandoned her family and Lucy fell through the cracks. But with hard work and help from mentors she graduated as a lawyer and today she’s the first Latina candidate for lieutenant governor.”

Flores then speaks directly into the camera, suggesting the soccer kids can achieve their goals.

“It doesn’t matter where they come from, every kid deserves to reach their dreams, but it’s up to us to fight for their education,” says Flores, a high school dropout who got her GED and then a law degree.

Flores has been emphasizing her life story in her campaign, partly to introduce herself to voters but also because a survey her campaign conducted last year said that sharing her difficult upbringing could lead to victory. The poll showed a boost in support for Flores among voters by 10 percentage points after those surveyed were told her personal story.

The Hispanic vote also could play a decisive role in Flores’ Nov. 4 general election race against state Sen. Mark Hutchison, R-Las Vegas, as she and Democrats seek to drive up voter turnout by getting Latinos’ excited about the contest.

In Nevada, the Hispanic vote has exploded over the past decade, accounting for 18 percent of the electorate in 2012, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, or nearly one out of five voters.

Flores and other Democrats already have been using the World Cup tournament to draw Latino interest in the election, holding two watch parties last week.

Hutchison also introduced himself to voters in his first TV ad released during the primary campaign. It shows him walking side by side with GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval, who has endorsed him for lieutenant governor. And it highlights Hutchison, an attorney, representing Nevada for free in its lawsuit against Obamacare that reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

“A committed conservative who answered the call and fought for us,” the ad narrator says of Hutchison, calling him “the right choice” for lieutenant governor.

You can see the ad here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUW0LyCm014

Contact Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Find her on Twitter: @lmyerslvrj.