Latinos’ clout has Democrats fretting over Biden’s outreach

Democrats opting for social distancing is a major difference with Republicans, said Carlos Curbelo, a former Republican House member from Florida. He contrasted Democrats’ approach with extensive on-the-ground efforts by Republican campaigns, particularly the Trump campaign’s focus on knocking on millions of voters’ doors nationwide.

“In a lot of communities, I think particularly Latino communities, when everyone’s getting bombarded with television ads and emails and texts, the difference-maker could be someone showing up,” Curbelo said. 

Texas-sized optimism

In Texas, where Latinos make up 30 percent of eligible voters, Biden isn’t expected to pose a serious threat to Trump’s chances. A Democratic presidential candidate hasn’t won the state since 1976. 

That hasn’t hampered the optimism of the state’s Democratic Party spokesman, Abhi Rahman. He says more than 2 million newly registered voters, many of them in Hispanic and Latino communities in the Houston and Dallas suburbs and South Texas, can make the party competitive. Rahman says the Democrats can flip several competitive House seats, the state Legislature and even Senate and presidential races.

The party has launched a bilingual advertising campaign across media platforms meant to tap voters who have not cast ballots in past elections. He thinks Trump’s rhetoric on immigration and the Mexican border will galvanize Latino voters because of their proximity.