With the country more divided than ever, the Democrats secured the White House for the next four years and it was undoubtedly with the help of people of color across the country. As politicians begin to look at the upcoming midterm elections, 2022 will again be determined by the POC vote. For Democrats, capitalizing on Latino voters and the coalitions that Latinos can build will be key in their success.
In 2020, there were 15 competitive congressional districts across the country that Democrats lost by 12.1% or less of the vote and Republicans held just slightly over 50% of the overall vote share. These districts include CA-8, CA-22, CA-39, CA-21, CA-25, CA-48, CA-50, CO-3, FL-26, FL-27, NM-2, TX-10, TX-21, TX-23, and TX-24. In all these districts, Latinos make up a significant share of the electorate, and their vote has the power to make a difference in flipping the district blue. In CA-21, the district is over 75% Latino and the Democrats lost by just over 1500 votes and in CA-25, where again Latinos make up the largest share of the population, Democrats lost by a mere 333 votes. Confident they would retake the Senate in 2020, Democrats now find themselves needing to win the two remaining Georgia Senate seats if they wish to have their agenda passed with the new administration.
Despite Democrats showing strong support in the polls, they lost 9 seats in the House races of 2020, reducing their majority lead to just 11. This loss, if not understood, can happen again during the midterms. For Democrats to ensure that they not only keep, but increase, their seats, Democrats need to focus on these key congressional districts. They cannot afford to leave Latinos on the sidelines and need to ensure that they understand the issues that the community is facing. Understanding these losses and margins can bring clarity to the party on their ability to be able to recover these seats if they are able to garner Latino votes. Outreach to Latino communities will be pivotal as the population’s influence is increasing in the political sphere. The Latino community wants to be heard and not treated as a monolith that has appeared to be the norm with the Democratic party. It is clear that rhetoric from the right pushed Latino voters to the Republicans and towards Trump this year, having a significant result in the House outcome. The Democrats, if they hope to regain these seats, must make Latinos feel that the party truly cares for them as voters and make efforts to mobilize them to show up and vote on election day.
