The Kamala Harris presidential campaign has a problem with Latinos, and it manifested itself in the very low turnout at a rally meant to increase support from the demographic.
The rally with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz featured Puerto Rican celebrities Anthony Ramos of “Hamilton” and Liza Colón-Zayas of “The Bear” in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of Hispanics that composes about a third of the residents.
‘I thought there would be more Latinos than what I saw.’
And yet, according to an official at the rally, only about 50 Hispanics were in attendance.
While Harris increased support from Hispanics after seizing the nomination from President Joe Biden, she is underperforming when compared to his Hispanic support in the 2020 election. A Pew poll found that 57% of Hispanics said they would support Harris while 61% of Hispanics voted for Biden in 2020.
That same poll found that former President Donald Trump had increased his support from Latinos in 2020 from 36% to 39% in the current election.
At the rally, the few Hispanics who showed up spoke to a reporter from the Free Press.
“I thought there would be more Latinos than what I saw,” said Luis Gonzalez, a retired truck driver.
“The focus was for the Latino folks,” said 70-year-old Gloria Cuadrado. “But I didn’t think the turnout was there.”
Cuadrado, who was born in Puerto Rico, noted that the campaign had purposely scheduled the rally for the day after the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Maria.
About 1,500 people attended the rally, but with the estimated 50 Hispanics, only 3% of the community showed up.
“We understand that it’s a tight race and that it’s going to be decided by a few thousand votes in a few states,” said Maca Casado, the Harris campaign’s Hispanic media director.
“The Latino vote is going to be critical,” she concluded.
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