LatAm in Focus: What Do We Really Know about the Latino Vote?
LatAm in Focus: What Do We Really Know about the Latino Vote?
UnidosUS' Clarissa Martínez De Castro and The Washington Post's Sabrina Rodríguez cover issues motivating the voting bloc heading into the U.S. midterms.
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As the November midterm approaches, both U.S. political parties ask once again: Have we done enough to reach out to Latino voters?
That group—now the second-largest racial/ethnic group in the United States—has proven pivotal to countless races, usually in favor of the Democrats. But in 2020, Republicans, led by then-President Donald Trump, made inroads with Latinos, especially in South Florida and Texas.
“There’s always been a swing element in the Latino electorate,” said Clarissa Martínez De Castro, vice president of the Latino Vote Initiative at UnidosUS, the largest civil rights group for Latinos in the country. Martínez De Castro spoke to AS/COA Online’s Carin Zissis about the myths surrounding this diverse voting bloc.
One myth, she said, is that Latinos don’t vote. “Once registered, Latinos in presidential years vote about 80 percent,” she noted. “So, what we have is a registration gap.” Yet, even with the grand potential of this group, she explained that outreach from both parties is still insufficient—and often performed late.
“Parties and candidates are still not reaching out enough to these voters. And if they do, they do it at the very last minute.” —Clarissa Martínez De Castro
AS/COA Online looks at where Latinos in the United States stand on party affiliation, top issues, and support for the Biden administration.
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Two states where the Latino vote receives particular attention are in Florida and Texas. There, both Trump and President Joe Biden’s policies on immigration and Latin American foreign policy have immediate and sharp impacts on the highly Latino electorate, said Sabrina Rodríguez, national political reporter at The Washington Post.
“[Trump] focused heavily on trying to paint Democrats as socialist and tying it to many people’s countries of origin, which in South Florida, there are many Venezuelans, many Nicaraguans, and Cubans,” she explained. And it worked. Now, Republicans are trying that same strategy again, this time spotlighting Biden’s relationship with new Colombian President Gustavo Petro and his response to the protests in Cuba to win over previously Democratic voters.
While Latino voters in these states are looking at issues specific to Latin America, they also operate along increasingly deep partisan lines. It’s why Rodríguez notes that many Latino groups in Florida didn’t seem perturbed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ sending of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard.
"We are seeing that Republicans have invested significantly in south Florida and significantly in south Texas." —Sabrina Rodríguez
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