Joe Biden knows he has a problem with Latino voters. He acknowledged as much during a visit to Arizona last month: “I need you badly,” he said, with a tinge of exasperation, to a room of supporters.
He was visiting a longtime Mexican restaurant, a staple in a working-class corner of downtown Phoenix, as his presidential campaign officially launched its general election effort to woo and win back Latino voters in Arizona and other battleground states. The effort, called “Latinos con Biden-Harris,” is starting off much earlier than the muted version that played out in 2020, long after a bruising and cash-strapped primary campaign had ended and as the coronavirus pandemic spun out of control. This year, it couldn’t be coming at a more necessary time.
Across just about every kind of poll and survey, Biden (and his party) seems to be struggling to hold onto the high levels of support that the second-fastest growing ethnic voting group has historically given Democrats. More Hispanic and Latino voters say they are open to switching parties than before. They are dissatisfied with the state of the economy under Biden’s leadership. Many pine for the pre-pandemic Trump days. And more worrying for Democrats, they view Donald Trump more positively today than they did after the 2020 election.
Still, none of that means that Republicans are actively taking advantage of this moment. For now, the Trump campaign and the GOP don’t seem to have a concrete strategy to make more inroads with these voters. As the Republican National Committee undergoes a major transition with more Trump-aligned leadership, its much-lauded community outreach centers for nonwhite voters stand in limbo. Those centers were celebrated by Republican politicians and strategists ahead of the 2022 midterms for hosting cultural events and establishing a direct presence for the party in minority communities. Many are now closed, though the RNC has backtracked on reported plans to close even more…
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