By the beginning of the year, it became increasingly difficult to ignore the fact that the Biden campaign was facing challenges with Latino voters. A soft interview with Donald Trump on Univision in the fall appeared to mend his rocky relationship with the Spanish-language network. Polls showed Trump potentially winning the Latino vote—a stark contrast to his nearly 30-point loss in 2020. A survey by UnidosUS, a long-standing Hispanic civil rights organization, revealed that the top concerns for Latinos remained the economy and inflation.
In response, Kamala Harris convened a high-level meeting on February 24 at her official residence, the Naval Observatory, to discuss the Biden campaign's Latino outreach strategy. During the multi-hour session, which included cookies and brownies, Harris expressed her deep concern about the Latino vote and the state of Spanish-language media. She asked how she could better support the campaign in engaging Latino voters.
Harris had several key questions: Was it true that a Latino turns 18 every 30 seconds? How should she address the abortion issue, given its importance to Latino voters in the midterms? Matt Barreto, a Biden campaign pollster, suggested that Harris, as the daughter of immigrants, could become the Democratic Party’s answer to George W. Bush, a figure who had successfully connected with Latino voters.
The meeting led to an agreement that more data was needed on Harris’ strengths and weaknesses with Hispanic voters. This resulted in separate focus groups with Latina women and Latino men in Las Vegas on April 18.
The meeting, attended by senior Biden campaign and Harris aides, including campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez, deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks, and White House political director Emmy Ruiz, underscored the seriousness with which Harris approached the erosion of Hispanic support. Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, also briefly stopped by to say hello.
This previously unreported meeting highlighted the challenges Harris faced as she stepped into the role of the Democratic presidential nominee. With just 100 days until the election, the campaign was at risk of losing Latino support, not only in key Southwestern swing states but also in battlegrounds like Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, where Latino populations are rapidly growing. The generational disconnect between the oldest president in history and the increasingly young Latino electorate was a key factor. According to Pew Research Center's Mark Hugo Lopez, 21 percent of young eligible voters nationwide are Latino, with even higher percentages in critical states like Arizona and Nevada.
Since 2020, about 4 million new Latino voters have emerged, with 3 million of them being U.S.-born Latinos now eligible to vote in 2024.
“Our understanding of Latino voters is still rooted in the Obama era,” noted Carlos Odio of Equis Research. He pointed out that only 30 percent of Latinos registered today voted in the 2008 election when the Latino electorate was older, more Spanish-speaking, and more immigrant-focused.
Harris now had to adapt a Latino engagement plan originally designed for an 81-year-old white man to fit her profile as a 59-year-old woman of color. The future of the White House could hinge on this adjustment.
“They need to make some modifications, but the core of the strategy is there,” said Maria Cardona, a CNN commentator and longtime Democrat who had helped lead the first Latinas for Harris Zoom call. “They have to fine-tune it for a more streamlined operation.” One of these adjustments was better defining Harris herself. This became evident in the April focus groups, where participants recognized her name and knew she had run for president against Biden and was portrayed by Maya Rudolph on "Saturday Night Live."
However, that was the extent of their knowledge. When provided with more information, participants appreciated her advocacy for reproductive rights and her efforts as California attorney general to combat wage theft among immigrant workers. Campaign officials presented data showing Harris outpacing Biden in popularity among young Latinos, particularly women.
Barreto later emphasized the significance of this finding: “Younger Hispanic men seemed like a challenge for Biden, but they’re open-minded about Harris.”
In just a few weeks, Equis Research referred to this as a “Latino reset.” An August 14 survey of 2,183 Hispanics showed Harris leading Trump 56 percent to 37 percent across seven battleground states, with her support among Latinos under 40 being particularly strong—17 points higher than Biden's.
“This is an Obama moment, not a Covid-era digital campaign,” said Alida Garcia, a political strategist who has been organizing Latinos for Harris since her first statewide race in 2009. She noted that Harris’ rise has sparked a grassroots movement, with people mobilizing on their own to support her campaign. “I’ve been chasing that feeling since 2008,” she said.
Mike Madrid, a co-founder of The Lincoln Project, highlighted in his new book "The Latino Century" that Latinos are more likely to vote for women than any other ethnic group. He also praised Harris for her strategic decision to focus on border security early in the campaign, departing from the traditional Democratic stance on immigration.
“There’s definitely a cultural shift happening,” he said. “It’s fair to compare this to Obama’s campaign—maybe even call it Obama Plus. Kamala has energized the Democratic base and ushered in a generational shift.”
The campaign saw Nevada, a state that had shifted from reliably blue to potentially red for the first time since George W. Bush’s reelection, as a prime example of Harris’ impact on Hispanic voters. The first Latinas for Harris call, which raised $110,000 from more than 930 new donors and brought in over 400 new volunteers, demonstrated the potential of this new outreach effort. New York Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, a leading Puerto Rican voice who has campaigned in Pennsylvania’s politically significant Puerto Rican communities, added a note of urgency during the call.
“Kamala can’t win without Philadelphia and Allentown,” she said. “I haven’t been approached yet. We’re here to help; you just need to reach out.”
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