After helping to mobilize Latino voters to support Joe Biden in his bid for the presidency, Latino Victory, a three-branch organization dedicated to building power for Latino communities, is now looking for Biden to deliver on his promises.
During 2020 election, Latino Victory ran a $7 million electoral campaign to increase Latino voter participation. Its efforts, along with those of numerous other Latino-oriented groups, proved to be successful, with voter turnout among Latinos up from the previous election.
Along with congratulating Biden for naming several Latinos to cabinet positions, including Xavier Becerra for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Alejandro Mayorkas for Secretary of the Homeland Security (DHS), Latino Victory recently declared its support for Biden's comprehensive immigration bill.
In a press release, Latino Victory Project President and CEO Nathalie Rayes stated, "The bill is a forward-thinking measure that will help transform our broken immigration system into one based on humane and fair policies...The ball is now in Congress’ court, and we hope they support the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 to provide relief to millions of individuals and families and become the generation of lawmakers that finally fixes our broken immigration system."
So far, it seems unlikely the bill will receive enough bipartisan support to pass.
Although Latino Victory was the first national Latino organization to endorse Biden for president, it's far from the only group that helped elect Biden. In recent years, the number of Latino-focused political groups has exploded. From mobilizing Latino voters to engaging Latinos in civic and political movements, there’s no shortage of nonprofits looking out for Latino interests.
So what makes Latino Victory unique?
For starters, its explicit goal is to increase Latino representation in government. Latino Victory describes itself as “a progressive organization working to grow Latino political power by increasing Latino representation at every level of government and building a base of Latino donors to support this critical work.”
Latinos are the second-largest ethnic group in the U.S., according to the Pew Research Center. There are approximately 60 million Latinos currently living in the country. The number of Latino communities in states outside of the southwest and New York is rapidly increasing.
Despite this, Latinos remain massively underrepresented in government at both the local and federal levels. According to Latino Victory, “several majority-Latino counties have no Latino representation at any level.”
That’s a problem.
“When you don’t see people on the ballot that reflect your community, you’re less likely to vote,” explains Latino Victory on its website. “That’s why we’re making an effort to build Latino political power by investing in Latino candidates — so that the faces and voices of our community are reflected at every level of government and in the policies that will help drive our country forward.”
For example, according to Latino Victory, Latinos score higher than any other demographic group on environmental concerns, particularly on issues related to clean air and water. However, because there is so little Latino representation in government, these concerns are rarely if ever brought up. This negatively impacts everyone, not just Latinos.
Founded by Henry Muñoz and actress Eva Longoria, Latino Victory seeks to close the civic and leadership gap so that Latino interests are adequately represented in government.
A Three-Part Strategy
To achieve these goals, Latino Victory is divided into three separate branches: Latino Victory Fund, Latino Victory Foundation, and Latino Victory Project.
The Latino Victory Fund is an explicitly progressive political action committee dedicated to helping increase Latino representation at every level of government.
According to Rayes, Latino Victory works to “increase Latino representation in government and develop a pipeline of Latino leaders and donors.”
Since 2014, it’s helped elect a significant number of Latinos to Congress, including the first Latino senator, the first two Latinas to represent Texas in Congress, and increasing the number of Latinos in the House of Representatives from 28 to 38, said Rayes.
One of Latino Victory Fund’s more recent programs is its First Latinas program, which celebrates and helps elect Latinas to seats that have never had a Latina representative.
“Latinas are transforming the political landscape in races across the country and they’re winning,” said Rayes in a press release. “First Latinas aims to increase Latina representation and break barriers for future generations of Latinas who will see themselves in these key decision-making positions.”
The Latino Victory Project is a 501(c)(4) that works to foster upcoming Latino leaders, build alliances with other movements and groups, and shape public opinion about the Latino community’s influence.
Its voter mobilization campaign, Vote like a Madre, worked with several celebrities, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jennifer Lopez, Zoe Saldaña and America Ferrera.
“This campaign showcased the intersection of the arts and civic engagement, and the power that Latino artists have when their contributions include mobilizing the Latino community to make its voice heard,” said Rayes in an emailed statement.
Additionally, Latino Victory partners with other organizations, including NextGen, EMILY’s List and the National Democratic Training Committee, in order to host political training for Latinos who want to get involved in politics, according to Rayes.
Latino Victory describes the work of its 501(c)(3) arm, the Latino Victory Foundation, as “a nonpartisan effort to raise awareness about Latinos’ contributions to the American society and build greater understanding between Latinos and other communities.”
Promoting Latino Voices
One way Latino Victory does this is through its “Latino Talks,” which are discussions between Latino leaders such as climate scientists and politicians. The former secretary of housing and urban development, Julian Castro, for example, participated in the 2015 Latino Talk.
According to a report from NBC News, Castro said, “My hope is that this is the beginning of significant national dialogue of the contributions that the Latino community has made to the progress of the United States.”
Latino Victory has stressed the importance of uplifting Latino voices and the work of other Latino organizations, particularly through the use of social media platforms. “We believe that we cannot be what we cannot see,” said Rayes. “As such, we think it’s important to uplift our candidates and other Latinos in leadership positions to ensure that young Latinos understand that our community is valued in this country.”
Most of Latino Victory’s funding comes from individual and organization donations. Donors for the 2020 election cycle include Onward Together, Azteca International Corporation (Azteca America), the American Federation of Teachers, and Donors of Color Action. Past donors include former U.S. presidential candidate Tom Steyer.
Latino Victory understands that it isn’t enough simply to mobilize the Latino electorate; just as crucial is increasing Latino representation in government in order to foster policies that represent the wide and varied interests of Latino communities throughout the country.
As countless studies and reports have pointed out, Latinos are not a monolith nor are they single-issue voters. The needs and concerns of working-class Latino dairy farmers in Wisconsin are going to be different from the needs and concerns of Latino business entrepreneurs in New York. The only way for everyone’s interests and needs to be met is to increase representation at all levels of government.
“Latinos have the power of demographic numbers,” Rayes added, “but we will not have any political power if we do not claim it for ourselves.”
Election results
Several Latinos won congressional races, both at the state and national levels, during the 2020 general election.
Ben Ray Luján, who formerly represented New Mexico’s Third Congressional District, was elected to the U.S. Senate. Teresa Leger Fernandez won Luján’s old seat. She will be the first Latina to represent New Mexico’s Third Congressional District. Latino Victory supported both Luján and Fernandez in their respective races.
New York City Council Member Ritchie Torres won New York’s 15th Congressional District with a staggering 88% of the vote. Torres is gay, Afro-Latino and of Puerto Rican descent.
In addition to the increase in Latino representation in government, the election showcased just how important the Latino vote is.
“Latinos were decisive in President-elect Biden’s win by delivering Arizona and Nevada and contributing to the margin of victories in battleground states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan,” said Rayes. “It’s a remarkable feat that despite being the community that is being hit the hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, Latino voter turnout surged and they made a difference in the most consequential election of our lifetime.”
“Latinos knew the stakes were high in this election, and they made their powerful voice heard,” added Rayes.
