Former presidential candidate Julian Castro, who was the only Latino candidate in the 2020 presidential race, warns that the lack of Latino representation in the Democratic National Convention could translate into a loss of votes for Democrats.
“I think we could win the battle and lose the war,” Castro said in an interview with Axios. “We could have won in November, but you could see a potential slide of Latino support for Democrats.”
Castro’s remarks come after some progressives expressed their frustration that more Latinos were not represented in this week’s convention, even though the Latino vote is the second largest voter base in the US, behind the White ballot box.
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Fomer Castro adviser Sawyer Hackett took to Twitter last week to talk about his anger over the decision to address Bloomberg to DNC voters, but not Castro.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., spoke briefly but only about a minute on Tuesday night – a time slot that still angered progressive voters.
A group of 225 DNC delegates petitioned for Joe Biden’s campaign to give Ocasio-Cortez more speaking time to ‘demonstrate respect for them and the constituencies they represent and allow them to make the case for why and how we must unite to defeat Trump and move America forward. ”
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Were also scheduled to speak during this week’s Democratic convention.
“The Latino community is too often invisible, it’s an afterthought,” Castro said. “Even though it will be the largest non-white voting group by 2020. I think in every way in American society … there is this image of the Latino community, as everyone came here five minutes ago.”
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A Pew Research poll found that 29 million Latinos were eligible to vote in the 2018 primary, representing 12.8 percent of voters in the U.S. The report also found that 69 percent of Latino voters, voting for the Democratic Party, compared to the highest of the party’s ballot box – the Black community, which in 2018 voted 90 percent democratically.
Casting of Biden is necessary “to make sure they do everything they can to reach a community that already has one of the lowest voting rates that needs to be brought into the fold,” Castro said.
Despite a previous working relationship with Biden, who served as former President Obama’s secretary of housing and urban development when Biden was vice president, he was not asked to speak at the convention. Some have suggested that this may be due to his attacks on Biden’s cognitive abilities, a strategy President Trump has put in place.
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Castro pointed to the swing states as one of the main reasons why the Biden campaign should start targeting the Latino electorate, saying that with their support Biden could win Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
“More importantly, ensuring that the Latino community is a robust part of this coalition going forward,” is the goal, Castro told Axios. “Or else you’ll see a slide that will benefit Republicans.”
