The political branch of the biggest Latino civil rights organisation in the United States formally supported President Biden for a second term on Tuesday, from the state of Arizona which is considered a crucial battleground.
The UnidosUS Action Fund officially supported the Biden-Harris ticket, as well as Congressman Ruben Gallego, who is the Democratic candidate in a highly contested Senate race. Gallego is currently in a tight competition with Kari Lake, a Republican who supports former President Donald Trump and has repeatedly made false claims about the 2020 election being stolen.
“According to UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía, the decision for Latino voters is very obvious,” she said in an interview with CBS News before the endorsement.
“According to Murguía, with Biden as our leader, we can make progress and move towards a better future,” “Under Trump’s leadership, we experienced a regression towards extremely strict policies and an economy that negatively impacted Latino families during his time in office.”
Murguía explained that she supports Mr. Biden because of his policies that she believes will help the Latino community. One example is his plan to expand the Affordable Care Act to include DACA beneficiaries. She said another reason was the fear of Trump’s negative statements about immigration.
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“He is discussing the idea of mass deportations,” Murguía said. “Not only at the border, but also in different communities.” This would cause pain for families and make communities less stable. It would also have a negative impact on our national economy.
The UnidosUS Action Fund will concentrate on getting the more than two million Latinos who live in the battleground state to take action. In 2020, Mr. Biden narrowly won Arizona by a margin of less than 11,000 votes. Hispanic voters were crucial in determining the outcome. By the year 2024, 25% of the voters in Arizona will be Latino.
Recent polling data from the New York Times, Siena College, and the Philadelphia Inquirer shows that Mr. Biden is currently behind Trump in Arizona and four other states considered to be important in the upcoming election: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Georgia.
The civil rights organisation is working to encourage more Latino voters to participate in the November elections. However, there are challenges such as misinformation and insufficient outreach that need to be addressed.
“According to Murguía, a major reason why voter turnout is low among Latino voters is because there hasn’t been enough effort put into mobilising them,” CBS News reported.
“During the last election, it was observed that very few Latino voters were reached out to by either political party or the candidates themselves, in order to encourage them to register to vote or participate in voting on Election Day.”
UnidosUS is asking the Biden-Harris campaign to increase their efforts to connect with Latino voters, stating that traditional advertisements alone are not enough. “It means going door-to-door and making phone calls, meeting people in person, and being present in our community,” said Murguía.
With six months remaining until Election Day, UnidosUS will be working to mobilise Latino voters. They will do this through activities like door knocking, making phone calls, voter education initiatives, promoting their endorsed candidates, and even offering transportation to the polls on election day.
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