CHICAGO — Latino lawmakers and organizers stressed Wednesday that their voting bloc is crucial to delivering key swing states for Democrats in November, and the Harris campaign launched a bilingual WhatsApp channel to reach Latino voters.
“The Latino vote is going to be a deciding factor in this election,” actress and Democratic surrogate Eva Longoria said during a Latino caucus meeting on the third day of the Democratic National Convention.
Members of Congress and Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign told delegates how they are trying to reach Latino voters, including by launching a bilingual WhatsApp channel.
“The channel will be the first of its kind in a U.S. presidential election and will provide culturally relevant content that reflects the Latino community that already exists on the platform, while also serving as another tool to combat misinformation and disinformation,” Harris’ campaign said in a statement.
WhatsApp is a popular messaging app among immigrants and Latinos. It is a free encrypted messaging app that can be used worldwide.
Pew Research Center Report found that about a quarter of Americans apply WhatsApp, but 46% of Hispanic Americans apply it, compared to 23% of Black Americans and 16% of white Americans.
Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodríguez launched the WhatsApp campaign with a video message, noting that the channel would provide a “behind-the-scenes” look at the campaign and information about Harris and her running mate, Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
The channel will be hosted by “Latinos con Harris-Walz”.
Michelle Villegas, national director of Latino engagement for the Harris campaign, said the Latino vote is key to winning three key battleground states: Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
“This is where Latino voters are going to help us win and get a bigger lead in these races,” Villegas said.
Villegas said the campaign also launched a bilingual telephone service and grassroots organizations, as well as several coalitions such as Latino Men for Kamala.
Former President Donald Trump has gained some support among Latino voters, especially men, according to a recent poll by the New York Times.
“This is the first time a presidential campaign in the United States has a WhatsApp channel,” Villegas said. “It’s huge. It’s super exciting and super important because we know Latinos communicate on WhatsApp.”
The app, a major source of communication, is also rife with misinformation, something Longoria noted Democrats need to address, especially when that misinformation is in Spanish.
“Our Spanish-speaking brothers and sisters are falling victim to disinformation and we need to help them,” she said.
Longoria, who has close ties to the Biden administration, said she will also reach out to Latino voters via WhatsApp.
Last year the White House a show was organized “Flamin Hot,” which was Longoria’s directorial debut. The film tells the legendary story of the creation of “Flamin’ Hot Cheetos,” a popular snack in the Latino community. The Los Angeles Times debunked the storybut it’s still a popular rags to riches story.
Longoria added that Democrats need to talk about issues significant to the Latino community, such as the economy and inflation.
“We have so much to do,” Longoria said. “I think one of the main issues for Latinos is that people think it’s always immigration, and that’s important, but the economic argument is something I don’t think we’re doing a good enough job of explaining to our Latino brothers and sisters.”
Harris’ deputy chief of staff and senior adviser Sergio Gonzales said Latino votes are key.
“We will not take any Latino vote for granted,” he said, adding that Harris also comes from a state with a huge Latino population: California.
Latino Voter Poll
Equis Research, a Latino voter research and polling firm, found in a recent study tHarris leads Trump among registered Hispanic voters, 56% to 37%.
The poll found Harris also gained support among Latina women compared to when Biden was still in the race before he dropped out last month. Biden, for example, polled at 50% among Latina women, while Harris received about 59% support among Latina women.
“With Kamala Harris coming in, we’re seeing numbers that are returning to historically normal ranges,” the poll analysis found. “Compared to Biden, she’s seeing rebounds in Latino subgroups, with the strongest rebounds among young people.”
However, the report noted that Harris “remains several points behind Biden’s 2020 performance” in key states such as Arizona.
The CEO of the political organization Voto Latino, María Teresa Kumar, said the group is working to register Latino voters in the following states: Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas.
No congress activities
Democratic U.S. Reps. Greg Casar of Texas and Delia Ramirez of Illinois said the Biden administration continues to influence immigration reform without Congress, such as through the recent introduction of deportation protections for undocumented spouses.
Immigration reform is all but dead in a divided Congress. A bipartisan border security measure that had advanced in the Senate died after Trump raised objections to it, wanting to campaign on immigration.
Instead, most immigration reform came from the White House and was passed through legislation such as expanding access to healthcare for uninsured individuals under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and the latest executive order for undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens.
Protection against deportation For people married to U.S. citizens, this is a one-time action that is intended to allow approximately 500,000 undocumented spouses and their children to apply for enduring legal residence — a green card — after meeting certain requirements.
Ramirez, whose husband is a DACA recipient, said immigrants and Latinos are “tired of waiting” for immigration reform. She said Harris should campaign on the issue because of the economic benefits it provides immigrants.
Congressional Budget Office estimates that the contributions of immigrants will boost the economy next year, reducing the deficit by $990 billion between 2024 and 2034 and increasing federal revenues by $1.2 trillion.
“We have a daughter of immigrants running for our president,” Ramirez said of Harris’ parents — her father is a Jamaican immigrant and her tardy mother was an Indian immigrant. “This is our moment to stand up for the contributions of immigrants.”
