It is no secret that the Latino vote will be one of the factors that will move the needle in the 2024 presidential elections, which is why the Democratic Party no longer sees this constituency as a safe bet. The Biden-Harris administration itself has been engaged in an intense drive to keep millions of Hispanic voters on their side.
As part of this effort to persuade Latinos to vote Democrat, Vice President Kamala Harris has been visiting Hispanic institutions and uses every occasion in the Latino calendar to proclaim her support to the community.
Harris has been on a national college tour, including many Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI), where she speaks about the efforts by the administration to provide support to Latino-owned businesses and entrepreneurs.
One of these visits was at Florida International University, the largest HSI in the country. The stop was part of her Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour, where she talked with the youth about issues on climate change, reproductive rights and gun safety, among other issues.
After her stop at Florida International University, Harris met with Latina journalist and founder of the Latino USA podcast Maria Hinojosa to discuss issues affecting this demographic heading into the 2024 election season.
Harris began the interview by talking about the importance of Latinos in the U.S. and highlighted the fact that nearly one in four new businesses are started by Latinos. She said that despite their contribution, Latinos face many challenges and attacks from right-wing extremists.
"I'm focused on issues like equity. People don't start on the same base, but they have ambitions and aspirations. You have to pay attention to the differences to make people have equal opportunities for success," said Harris. "It's not only about voting, it's about my investment in the strength and prosperity and security of our nation," she added.
The Vice President also touched on topics pertaining to immigration, reproductive rights, climate change and the current state of the Democratic Party.
On immigration, Hinojosa asked Harris if the Biden administration would apologize for the handling of the situation, including the 2020 speech where Harris told migrants not to come to the U.S. She did not apologize for her remarks but stated that the administration is taking a humane approach to the migrant crisis and is helping solve the root causes that force people to leave their home countries.
"The majority of people don't want to leave home, they don't want to leave their grandmother, they don't want to leave the church where they pray, they don't want to leave the neighborhood they grew up in... they are escaping and fleeing some harm," Harris said.
According to a Brookings survey, almost a quarter of Latino voters are between the ages of 18 and 29 and are concerned with progressive policies, yet they have mixed feelings about the Democratic Party.
"The 2022 election data also suggests that young Latinos' relationship with the Democratic Party is far from cemented. Although only 4% of Latinos under the age of 30 believe that the Democratic Party is hostile toward the Latino community, 37% report that Biden and Democrats don't care about the Latino community,'" read a passage from the survey.
Touching on this issue, Harris stated that the disconnect between the Democratic Party and young Latino voters stems from the division created by right-wing extremists.
"We're fighting for things for the people, and we're going to have a fight in front of us in this election to make sure that folks vote," said Harris.
It's worth noting that, according to the Pew Research Center, every 30 seconds a Latino becomes eligible to vote in the country. In fact, between 2018 and the 2022 midterm elections, Latino eligible voters increased by 16%, while Blacks rose by only 2%.
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