The prominence that the Latino community has gained in this campaign was confirmed again yesterday with the presence of community leaders at the Democratic convention being held in Chicago. On its first day, two of the main organizations, the Hispanic Federation and the Latino Victory Fund, revealed in a forum one of the barriers that the Democratic Party will have to overcome to gain their support: the lack of recognition of its candidate, Kamala Harris.
The survey conducted by BSP Research released yesterday shows that only 33% of Latinos are well informed about Harris’s political agenda. Her late entry into the race for the White House, with just 100 days left until the elections, is partly responsible for the fact that ignorance about the Democratic candidate is greater than that of her rival, Donald Trump, about whom 40% of Latinos say they are well informed. In any case, it is perceived that Latinos lack information about both proposals.
“The opportunity is huge for both parties to reach out to us,” said Latino Victory Fund Chairman Luis A. Miranda during the meeting, which was broadcast live on Facebook. “We know that historically two-thirds of voters are from the same party. [de los latinos] “They are Democrats and one-third Republicans. But Democrats know they have to get to that magic two-thirds in the key states to make sure they win. This is just the beginning of the work,” he added.
For his part, the president of the Hispanic Federation, Frankie Miranda, said that in order to reach the Latino voter, “it is necessary to involve community organizations so that the community understands what is at stake. The commitment that must be made now must be culturally and linguistically competent. It is an opportunity for them to understand what each candidate wants in terms of the issues that affect us.”
The poll was conducted among 600 registered voters between August 6 and 9. The data it yields once again show the enthusiasm that the change of leadership in the Democratic Party in favor of Harris has aroused among Latino voters.
“There is no question that Vice President Harris has injected considerable enthusiasm into the presidential race, and this poll confirms what is being reported on the ground and with large crowds at Harris’ rallies – that is, Latino voters report high levels of support and confidence in Kamala Harris to address the issues important to the Latino community,” said Matt Barreto, president of BSP Research.
Since President Joe Biden gave up re-election and Kamala Harris became the Democratic candidate, 57% of Latinos say they are more interested in the elections than they were before. Considering that, with 36.2 million voters, Latinos are the second largest demographic group in these elections, winning their vote will be crucial to winning the race for the White House.
Yesterday, once again, the importance of the Latino community in these elections was made clear when the Democratic candidate for vice president, Tim Walz, unexpectedly appeared before the Latino caucus, where he was received with applause by an enthusiastic audience, reports Macarena Vidal Lily from Chicago. It’s a sign of how crucial the Latino vote is to Democratic hopes, especially in swing states like Nevada and Arizona, where they represent a high percentage of the population.
All recent polls have reversed their previous predictions to show that Harris has made a comeback, and many are already predicting a victory for the Democrat. The BSP poll shows a 24-point lead for Democrats in voting intention, with 59% for Harris and 35% for Trump if there were only two opponents.
Voter apathy has also declined, with 73% of registered Latinos saying they intend to go out and vote, 10 points more than the previous data from this summer showed. The increase is even greater among young voters, who are the ones who showed the most disinterest in the elections. 62% of the young people surveyed declared their intention to go to the polls, a desired uproar because this year there are four million Latinos who will be able to exercise their right to vote for the first time.
Every 30 seconds, a Latino turns 18, the legal voting age in the country, and their abstention is the bête noire against which Latino organizations dedicated to promoting voting have been fighting during the current campaign.
“Their renewed enthusiasm to vote after Vice President Harris entered the race is a welcome sign, but organizations like Latino Victory and the Hispanic Federation know all too well that Latino voters are voters of persuasion. Candidates and organizations must invest in increasing voter participation in this powerful community,” acknowledged Sindy Benavides, president and CEO of Latino Victory Fund.
Latinos’ interests have not changed, however, from previous surveys. Economic issues continue to top their list of priorities, but so do immigration, violence, climate change and reproductive rights. This last aspect is what gives the greatest support to Harris, who since the beginning of the electoral campaign has established herself as a standard-bearer for the right to abortion. On another issue of interest, border control, they consider Trump more capable of protecting it.
WhatsApp campaign
To reach the Latino electorate, the Harris-Walz campaign launched a WhatsApp channel yesterday. It is the first time that the campaign has chosen this messaging platform, which is very popular among Latinos but little used by the rest of the population. “Now more than ever, we must meet Latinos where they are, and creative programs like this WhatsApp channel are the way this campaign will reach the voters who will decide this election,” said Harris-Walz Hispanic media director Maca Casado.
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, who participated in the meeting of Hispanic organizations, highlighted the growing empowerment of the Latino community. “We are in power, as attorneys general, secretaries of state, in Congress… They treat us with a level of respect that we have not seen before. Our electoral power is what is moving us to positions where we have to be leaders, not those who sit at the table, but those who rule at the table. So fight hard,” Fontes concluded.
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