Latino youth —
predicted to be a major voting bloc in the 2024 Presidential
election — are veering from their older family members and shifting
hard left on a host of issues, including gun control, reproductive
rights, climate change, and immigration policy.
A day ahead of the second Republican Presidential debate, the
Brennan Center for Justice hosted a panel discussion Sept. 26,
focusing on the rising power of LatinX youth. The panel featured
Maria Teresa Kumar, CEO of Voto Latino; Santiago Mayer, executive
director of Voters of Tomorrow, which he founded at age 17; and
Arizona state Rep. Alma Hernandez, who has been involved in
Democratic politics since she was 14. The panel was moderated by
Paola Ramos, a correspondent for Vice and a contributor at Telemundo
and MSNBC.
Latinos are now the second largest voting bloc in the United States
after non-Hispanic white voters. Latinos are also both the fastest
growing and the youngest electorate. In 2022, 34.5 million Latinos
were eligible to vote, according to a Pew Research Center study, up
almost 5 million since 2018. An estimated 70% of Latinos who vote
are registered Democrats. However, candidate engagement with the
community is minimal.
‘The Good Old Days of Newt Gingrich’
Panelists noted that narratives about the Latino vote swinging
right to support former President Donald Trump are based on a deep
campaign of misinformation, perpetuated through both social and
mainstream media.
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Maria Teresa Kumar, CEO of Voto Latino.
Kumar said candidates would have to take a stance on immigration,
going back to their party’s roots. “There was a time when the
Republican party was vying for the Latino vote. And not so long ago
in 2012, when Newt Gingrich — former Speaker of the House — was on
that stage, he was talking about compassionate pathways to
citizenship for people who had been in this country for at least 10
or 20 years.”
“But Republican candidates today have failed miserably because
instead they’ve politicized workers, people that want to contribute,
who are American: all but a social security number. And as a result,
we have been polarized as a country in ways that we never thought
possible.”
“So what I would look for of individuals going on to that stage is
some leadership and adulthood and speaking straight. Because it’s
very easy to demonize the most vulnerable and the most marginalized.
But at the end of the day, none of those folks that do that have a
pathway to the White House, plain and simple,” said Kumar.
The Frat Boy Demographic
“Our job as Latinos is to make sure that we are paying attention
and holding people accountable because at the end of the day, we
want the same protections every American has, including for our
families,” she added. “The person that wants to truly have a shot at
the White House tomorrow night is going to have to be able to
divorce themselves from the dangerous policies that are hurting
people in Latino communities.”
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Santiago Mayer, executive director of Voters of
Tomorrow
Mayer discussed the findings of a recent Voters of Tomorrow
poll. “Young people care about the economy and jobs. This is number
one, which is shocking for a lot of people, but it is really
something that we feel in our day-to -day lives,” he said.
“Number two, abortion rights and access to reproductive care. Even
some of the groups that you really wouldn’t think care about
abortion, like the frat boy demographic, for example, they are very
concerned about this issue,” said Mayer.
“We care about gun violence. We’ve grown up with the threat of
fearing in our own classrooms. We’ve seen the climate deteriorate,
and we are very concerned about the climate crisis,” he said, adding
that Latino youth are also concerned about LGBTQ rights even if they
are not part of the queer community.
‘Worlds Exploding’
“The bottom line is young people, especially young Latinos just
want to have normal lives. We don’t want to be in crisis mode 24-7
with breaking news alerts going on every two hours. We just want to
be able to sit down, and have a normal conversation without
something in the world exploding and having to deal with it,” said
Mayer.
“Candidates need to lean on that, especially the Republican
candidates who keep in many ways sort of denying reality, especially
with regards to like climate and gun violence,” he added.
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Arizona state Rep. Alma Hernandez
Hernandez, the youngest-ever representative in the Arizona state
Legislature, said she would like to see the candidates
comprehensively address reproductive rights.
Another Day Older and Deeper in Debt
“Women’s health is going to be on the ballot again. And I think
it’s really critical that these candidates tell us where they stand
on this issue. If they’re, if they think they’re going to win by
saying: ‘we’re going to continue to attack women and their
reproductive rights,’ well, I’d love to see how that goes.”
“Republicans blocked President Joe Biden’s efforts for student loan
debt forgiveness. And I would like to really hear what their plans
are to help so many American students who have gone into so much
debt to get educated. What is their plan to help them?”
“We tell people constantly: ‘go to school, get an education, you’ll
get a good job’, but what are Republicans’ plans for those who have
gone to school, but now are barely making enough to cover their loan
payments?” queried Hernandez.
“We’re hearing that a recession is coming again. And I think that
people around my age and people who have gone to school are really,
really starting to get nervous and really want to know what, what
are people going to do to help them? And those are two of the
important issues that I believe is going to really change the minds
of voters and the way that they’re going to see these folks who want
to be elected officials,” she said.
All three panelists agreed that candidates need to reach out to
LatinX voters consistently throughout the election cycle, not just
two weeks before the polls open.
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