Democrats Ramp Up Latino Outreach in Pennsylvania With Help From Puerto Rican Celebs

On Friday, a poll by The New York Times/Siena College revealed that Pennsylvania, one of the considered battleground states this election cycle, has Kamala Harris ahead of Donald Trump by 4 points, 50% to 46%. The figure was described by the Times as being "surprising," as the state has been among the most contested states during the last two elections and has generally trended more Republican than the nation has overall.

Despite the alleged margin, Democrats are working hard to boost voter turnout in Latino communities across Pennsylvania, especially considering Harris holds a considerable lead among the demographic in the state.

This past weekend, actors, celebs and even vice-presidential hopeful Tim Walz participated in rallies and door-to-door efforts to engage eligible voters in cities like Bethlehem and Lancaster. The presence of Puerto Ricans, who represent more than half of the 580,000 eligible Latino voters in the state, was especially noteworthy.

Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz attended a rally in Bethlehem on Saturday, marking the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Emmy-winning actor Liza Colón-Zayas and "Hamilton" actor Anthony Ramos, both of Puerto Rican descent, spoke at the event, urging Puerto Rican voters to turn out for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Colón-Zayas criticized former President Donald Trump's handling of hurricane aid, saying that he "tossed paper towels at us", in reference to the former president's 2017 visit to San Juan, in which he tossed paper towels into a crowd of attendees at a church, an action that was labeled by the city's mayor as "terrible and abominable."

Colón-Zayas, who recently became the first Latina to win an Emmy for supporting actress in a comedy for her role in "The Bear," also referenced the power of the Latino vote. "Now that I know something about making history, I am here to tell you that we can make history again," she said. "We have more political sway now than ever before, and when we vote, we win."

Meanwhile, in Lancaster, 200 canvassers from CASA in Action, a nonprofit focused on electing progressive candidates, knocked on the doors of 3,500 registered voters. The effort was part of a collaboration with former Democratic Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, also Puerto Rican. The campaign aimed to engage low-frequency voters, particularly those in the fifth most Hispanic city in Pennsylvania.

Latino voter turnout in Pennsylvania has historically been lower than other racial and ethnic groups, according to NBC News. In the 2020 election, just over half of eligible Latino voters cast ballots, compared to two-thirds of the overall voting population.

Despite traditionally supporting Democratic candidates, many Latino voters have shown less consistent party loyalty than other groups, according to Michael Jones-Correa, a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania, who says that makes them "one of the few voting groups where there's a chance of either mobilizing them or changing their minds,"