Largest Latino advocacy group endorses Biden

The political arm of the largest Latino civil rights and advocacy group threw its weight behind President Joe Biden for a second term in the White House as polls show support for the incumbent president among Hispanic voters could be slipping. 

President of the UnidosUS Action Fund Janet Murguía officially announced the endorsement at a press conference in Phoenix on Tuesday, the organization said in a press release. The group will also work to turn out voters in Arizona’s urban areas and in communities along the U.S.-Mexico border with canvassing, signature collection and media buys, according to the organization.  

“We’ve already seen what the Biden-Harris Administration has accomplished for the Latino community and all Americans, helping to successfully navigate a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, creating millions of new jobs, and promoting access to health care and quality education for all,” Murguía said. “We know our country will continue to be on this path to progress if we choose Biden/Harris in November,”

The organization also gave its official nod to Arizona Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is likely to face Kari Lake, former Republican candidate for governor in Arizona, as well as former Democratic State Senators Raquel Teran and Kirsten Engel for Congress. 

The location of the endorsement announcement in Phoenix and general focus on Arizona, the group noted, speaks to the state’s “critical swing-state status.” Arizona, according to Pew Research Center, has the largest share of eligible Latino voters of the main battleground states. 

Nearly a quarter of voters who cast a ballot in Arizona this November are expected to be Latino, according to the nonprofit NALEO Educational Fund. The nonprofit noted that figure mirrored the percentage who voted in the state in 2020. 

Earlier this year, Biden used a stop at a Mexican restaurant in a predominantly Latino area of Phoenix to launch his reelection campaign’s national strategy to reach Hispanic voters, dubbed Latinos con Biden-Harris. 

But it comes as signs from recent polls and data from recent election cycles showing Hispanic voters, who have historically backed Democratic candidates, may be increasingly more open to the GOP’s message. 

A poll from The New York Times, Siena College and The Philadelphia Inquirer released this week showed Biden and his likely 2024 Republican rival, former President Donald Trump essentially tied among Hispanic voters. 

While statistics from the most recent elections show Democrats still have a firm grip when it comes to the support of Latino voters, the margin by which Democrats have won among such communities has shrunk. 

In 2020, former President Donald Trump – who, along with Biden already received enough delegates to earn his party’s nomination for president – got the support of 38% of Latino voters to Biden’s 59%, according to the Pew Research Center. By contrast, Hillary Clinton won Latino voters 66% over Trump (28%) in 2016.