Biden’s Case to Latino Voters Comes Late. Will They Listen?
Although Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have undertaken new outreach, polls show that they are failing to gain the backing of Latino voters, who could decide the 2020 election.Photograph by Patrick Semansky / AP
On August 29th, Kamala Harris addressed the Latino community for the first time as Joe Biden’s running mate. The senator from California headlined the launch of Nuestros Negocios, Nuestro Futuro, a new campaign initiative designed for Latino business owners. Held via Zoom, the event centered on Florida, a crucial battleground state where Biden needs to reverse an ominous sign for Democrats. According to recent polls, Biden leads Donald Trump among Latinos by a smaller margin than that of Hillary Clinton, who won two-thirds of their votes in 2016 and still lost the state. Many audience members had tuned in to the event searching for answers, or, at the very least, a measure of comfort. When the coronavirus began spreading across the country, the unemployment rate among Latinos nearly quadrupled and their businesses shuttered. Harris listened to the woes of business owners intently, and described an economic plan meant to provide much-needed relief. She cast Biden’s Presidency as an imperative. Her message felt overly scripted at times, but convincing enough to end with an ask of her listeners. “Years from now, our children, our grandchildren, will look in our eyes and they’re going to ask us, ‘Where were you at that moment? And what did you do?’ ” Harris said, tilting slightly to the camera. “We will start by telling them, ‘I voted.’ ”