Latino Voters in the 2020 Election

The Washington Post has a story about Democratic candidates trying to woo African American and Latino voters. Just yesterday morning I was on Charlotte Talks to discuss the latter (you can listen here).

The article makes the point that both groups tend to feel taken for granted by the Democratic Party. That came up in our discussion, and I said it was déjà vu because I felt like we've brought this up for the past several presidential elections. Right now a bunch of white candidates, mostly older, are trying to show how much they care about non-whites. President Obama's immigration record was not particularly good. Fellow guest Olma Echaverri pushed back, saying the Latino community appreciated his push for DACA. Fair enough, but I just don't get the sense that Joe Biden can ride those coattails.

Meanwhile, we talked about how Bernie Sanders seems to have generated enthusiasm with Latino voters, but the article points out this appears to be limited mostly to younger voters. Older voters, who go to the polls in greater numbers, haven't felt the Bern yet.

Mike Collins asked me whether it was too late. My response was that it probably was for the primaries, but not for the general election. Latino voters are interested in the same issues as other groups--health care, for example--but you need to reach out at the local level. This isn't new or original.

Finally, with regard to North Carolina he quoted something I wrote at Global Americans back in 2016 and asked if I thought it was true now.

The main way Latinos in North Carolina can potentially play a critical role in this election is high turnout for a close race. In 2012 Mitt Romney won the state by a 50.4-48.4 percent margin, a difference of 92,004 voters. If Latinos turnout in 2016 could reach the rate of African Americans in the last election, that would mean approximately 114,000 voters. This could help nudge results in one direction or another, but is not giant-like. That time will come, but not until at least the 2020 presidential election.

And yeah, it is. In this and many other states, Latino voters could be the nudge. In places like Texas and Arizona, it could be more of a shove.