In The Community
Originally published in The Latino Newsletter–reprinted with permission.
Opinion for The Latino Newsletter.
For Latino voters, this election was always about how inflation impacted their everyday lives and economic choices. In polls going back to 2021 and leading up to the 2022 midterm election, Latino voters consistently indicated that the economy was their number one issue, which continues to be so. This election's Latino voter preferences shouldn't have come as a surprise. Historically, presidents who oversaw periods of high inflation often faced challenges in subsequent elections.
Let's remember that Donald Trump did not win the Latino vote. Still, the percentage gains were significant enough to panic Democratic strategists, who viewed this as a moment of reckoning. Undoubtedly, this election marked a pivotal moment in how campaigns reach out to the Latino community.
Moving forward, Democrats can no longer take the Latino vote as a given, and this presents an opportunity for accountability to both parties.
For Democrats, it’s about accountability for their lack of investment in Latino voters. For Trump, it’s about accountability for delivering on economic promises and ensuring Latinos have a seat at the table.
The mission for the nonprofit I lead, Latino Prosperity, is to guarantee that Latinos and Latinas are represented in key government roles that shape economic policy—and, in turn, the economic futures of our community.
With this in mind, I can state the following with certainty: Bidenomics didn't connect with Latino voters.
The Biden/Harris administration made historic investments in the American economy. The administration passed the American Rescue Plan, which invested $1.9 trillion into economic stimulus to help prevent a recession from the pandemic. They also passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which led to necessary investments in the green economy. The stock market surged forward, unemployment was near a 50-year low, and Biden’s economic policies created over 13 million jobs. Nearly 800,000 jobs were in manufacturing, which helped working-class families and communities.
As the voting numbers demonstrated, the Latino community, and many others, didn't embrace the Democratic Party's economic message. The reasons for that may vary, but it ultimately boiled down to inflation and the high cost of essential goods like milk, bread, meats, eggs, and other commodities like housing, insurance, and healthcare.
The Democratic messaging assumed that Latinos would identify with overarching job growth statistics or long-term infrastructure investments.
They didn't.
These policies and messaging could not have an impact on their everyday lives. All that Latinos could see was a reduction in their purchasing power and the “American Dream” slipping away.
A pre-election UnidosUS poll identified the top issues (in order) for the Latino electorate: inflation and the rising cost of living, jobs and the economy, lack of affordable housing and high rents, healthcare, immigration, and border security.
The one issue missing, though, that needs to be listed but captures all is achieving the American Dream. Achieving it is significant for first-generation immigrant families. Homeownership is the most iconic representation of having made it in America. With inflation pinching every penny out of their wallet, Latino working-class families feel further away from achieving homeownership than ever before. Latinos aren't giving up on the American Dream, so they looked for other options.
Bidenomics policies were necessary long-term investments that will be noticeable in years to come, but they have yet to translate into immediate solutions for working-class households. The Democratic message focused too much on other topics like democracy and reproductive rights. Those are important topics too, but it's easier to think of something else if you worry about renting the following month and covering your bills.
The bottom line is that perception of Biden’s policy achievements did not align with the financial realities of working-class families. Meanwhile, Harris struggled to clearly convey how her approach would differ from Biden’s.
Latino voters sent a powerful message: their economic struggles and aspirations are their priority. Navigating a post-COVID economy has been challenging for Latino families, and leaders in both parties must recognize that this was a call to action. Democrats have to realize that their message did not connect with the majority of Americans and nearly half of the Latino community.
Let's be clear: this doesn't mean that Trump did a great job of reaching out to Latinos. He didn't. However, history will prove that this election marked when Latinos made it clear that campaigns must work hard to earn their vote.
I sniffle through my so-called ‘liberal tears’ as I stare at the screen in front of me in disorienting disgust. It’s 2024, and America has just voted for a man convicted of 34 felonies over an accomplished woman lawyer with an outstanding track record.
I am an American Latina who loves and believes in this country. One who proudly dropped off her voting ballot, encouraged others to vote, sent voter guides to friends, and posted about the threat of another Donald Trump presidency.
This mind-bending reality is destroying me, just like it is destroying democratic voters across the country. We stand bewildered, shocked, and scared, shrugging our shoulders and wondering what the hell went wrong. What did we miss? The news media cycles for the next few months will undoubtedly debate this question, but most will skip the honest conversations we need to have with ourselves and our peers.
There are two dreadful categories of answers—the easy answers and the hard answers.
It’s easy to say that America is still inherently racist and sexist because it’s true. Despite the civil rights movement of the 1960s and all the social progress made since, it really only has been 49 years since Latinas got the right to vote. In 1975, President Gerald Ford signed an extension of the Voting Rights Act that ended discrimination against “language minorities.” In the grand spectrum of history, this is a minor period compared to the hundreds of years it took to end slavery, of which our black brothers and sisters still suffer the social and financial repercussions of today.
49 Years later, Latinos in California just now are at the growing height of their prime. We’re winning seats in Congress and graduating college at record numbers. Academia is now filled with nuanced dissertations of Latine academics who offer the missing perspectives of history we lacked in our high school textbooks. There’s even a Latina-led news media outlet! We must be advancing society, right?
So how did Donald Trump win when we have so many of us working hard and entering the higher echelons of society? How, when he demonized us, our communities, and disparaged the Central American countries of our ancestors?
It’s easy to say that Kamala lost because she is a woman of color and voters are sexist, racist and simply not ready for a female president. It’s easy to say that the country is stupid and uneducated. It’s even a bit elitist, and it makes me cringe just typing it.
But it’s even harder to admit that the Democratic party betrayed their voting base, deceptively stringing us along for 4 years amid the threat of another Trump presidency. It’s hard to admit that they pushed Biden upon us in 2020, entertaining us with a democratic primary where many contenders, including Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris, validly questioned the Democratic establishment and pushed a progressive agenda.
Despite his poor debate performance, Biden was ushered into the primary seat by the establishment, never giving voters a chance to choose their favorite candidate. By the time the Democratic National Convention came around, they had effectively pushed all competitors out of the race to ensure Biden’s nomination.
And we all said sure, whatever it takes to beat Donald Trump.
Biden won, and all went “back to normal.” Four years of unmemorable accomplishments went by for the Democratic party. The promises made during the 2020 campaign faded away. Immigration was never fixed, abortion was never protected, and I, as a Latina, felt incredibly ignored by my own party. I felt angry and deceived. I worked hard to represent the Democrats in my community, but scrutiny over the party’s poor decisions and lack of connection to voters was getting incredibly hard to challenge.
How long can we keep saying it is the fault of the voters, when it is the responsibility of the party to win our vote?
As we headed into the 2024 election year, Democratic voters across the country resoundingly began rejecting President Biden. Personally, I did not feel like he represented what he ran for, nor did I feel he was strong enough in his messaging to win another election against Donald Trump. I still remember getting nauseous every time I heard the President talk about immigration; it made me despondent, concerned and made me question my vote for him. I won’t engage in the age issue here, but I am sure everyone watched him speak and realized “shit, he isn’t going to cut it.” We all knew this.
The Democratic Party refused to listen.
It wasn’t until they saw the polls showing a Biden loss against Trump that they decided to switch their candidate, questionably, only a few months before the election. The fact is, Kamala didn’t win a primary election as a presidential candidate, and as much as I want a female president, the way she was chosen struck me as incredibly undemocratic. It felt like the party ignored us until they couldn’t, but by the time they changed course, it was too late.
I love Kamala Harris, but her presidential campaign run was botched into a 5-month sprint for a party that had lost the trust of their voters, with only one debate against Trump to show her skill set (and she absolutely nailed it). This was not enough to win.
Democratic Establishment failed to listen to their voters, coalition of organizers, activists, and advocates. They failed so hard that I, a lifelong Democrat, am questioning their motives and values. Vote after vote, the election process feels like an unfair game of chasing the carrot, where you jump for the carrot, and do back-flips but never actually get the carrot.
I have spent 14 years voting and I am fed up with the Democratic Party. At every political loss, they have disparaged young voters, blamed us for not doing enough, and blamed third-party voters for not falling in line when it is their lack of connection, insight, and responsibility to voters that have made them fail. If I hear them blame voters for this loss (and they will, it’s a classic talking point) I will take my vote elsewhere next presidential run, and no, I will never vote for a Republican.
The hardest truth of all is that what I did to sway this election was not enough. As a Latina voter, I could have done more to help dispel the misinformation rampant in my community. I could have volunteered, knocked on doors, and most importantly, I could have challenged my Trump-voting family members. With so much on the line, I think many of us feel this way. This is a guilt I will carry for the next 4 years as I work my ass off to fix the system. Something has got to change, and it starts with taking a hard look at the Democratic Party and determining if they are truly a party for the people, or just another corporate vampire, living only to suck us dry.
What will you do in the next 4 years, sis?
- Opinion: GOP Insults Puerto Rico, Democrats Fall Short ›
- Latino Democrats and Organizations Rally Around Kamala Harris ›
Originally published in Common Dreams. Reprinted with permission.
The Latino electorate will prove decisive in securing reproductive freedom and abortion access through ballot measures around the country, particularly in states where Latinos are a significant portion of the electorate.
In November, abortion rights measures will appear on ballots across ten states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, and New York, where Latinos make up a significant portion of the electorate. For decades, pundits and politicians have recycled long-held misconceptions about Latino voters and abortion access, citing our conservative and religious beliefs.
Anti-abortion extremists have long fueled these misconceptions through misinformation and disinformation campaigns targeting Latino communities with egregious lies and inflammatory rhetoric about abortion. Yet, polling, focus groups, and direct interactions with Latino communities have debunked these outdated tropes.
The Latino electorate will prove decisive in securing reproductive freedom and abortion access through ballot measures around the country, particularly in states where Latinos are a significant portion of the electorate.
For Latinos, the freedom to decide, a pillar of our American democracy, is critical. Meanwhile, Latinos are being hit directly with anti-abortion efforts that take away that freedom such as the six-week abortion ban put into effect by the Florida Supreme Court and the 1864 abortion ban upheld by the Arizona Supreme Court. In the wake of the Dobbs decision, people of color and Latinas have felt the impact of a lack of abortion access, an element of basic healthcare.
A 2023 report by the National Partnership for Women and Families estimated that nearly 6.5 million Latinas, or 42% of all Latinas of reproductive age in the country, live in a state that either had or was likely to ban abortion. Ironically, it will be abortion access and anti-choice efforts to restrict freedom of choice that will mobilize Latino voters this election.
In a poll conducted by three national reproductive justice organizations, 87% of Latinas named abortion and women’s rights as one of their top priorities as they head to the polls. Another battleground poll conducted by Somos PAC and BSP Research found that 61% of Latino registered voters expressed a more positive/favorable view of Kamala Harris after hearing that she will protect abortion rights, versus only 19% of Latinos who said they had a more negative view of Harris after hearing that.
In key states to secure the White House and both chambers, Latinos make up large chunks of the electorate: Arizona (25%), Colorado (15%), Florida (20%), Nevada (20%), and New York (12%). In the face of unprecedented attacks on basic healthcare access and targeted attempts by extremists to mislead and divide our community on this issue, this November Latinos will be key deciders on abortion access across the country.
Mari Urbina, Managing Director of Indivisible, Battleground Arizona Lead and former Harry Reid advisor.
Héctor Sánchez Barba is president and CEO of Mi Familia Vota (MFV).
- What is the "Marea Verde," the Reproductive Rights Movement Sweeping Latin America? ›
- Latin-American 'Green Wave' Gains Momentum Amongst Worsening U.S. Conditions for Abortion Access ›
