Latinos helped Biden in 2020. He’ll need to earn their votes this year, expert says

A sign marks the entrance to a voting precinct on the first day of early voting in the general election in Phoenix, Oct. 12, 2022. Arizona Latinos responded to a tough crackdown on immigrants by building a turnout machine that helped propel Democrats to power. Ross D. Franklin/AP

When President Biden pulled out of a speech to a Latino advocacy group in Las Vegas Wednesday night after testing positive for COVID-19, he missed a chance to shore up support among a key group of voters.

The Latino vote is growing, especially in swing states. In Arizona, they made up roughly a quarter of voters who cast a ballot in 2020, according to NALEO Educational Fund , a nonprofit that works to increase Latino political participation.

Biden missing the speech was “a huge bummer,” Latino outreach strategist Stephanie Valencia told Morning Edition . The former Obama administration official is the co-founder of EquisLabs , a research and polling group that aims to create a better understanding of Latino voters. She was at the conference and hoped to hear the President speak.

“It was a huge opportunity for him to make his case to Latinos about why in this, the most consequential election of our […]

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