Where the Top Democratic Primary Candidates Stand with Latino Voters

Which of the Democrats will win over Latinos in the primaries? While it´s still not clear, there is one thing that is: the Latino vote could swing the Democratic primary. Although Latinos are not homogenous in their opinions on practically anything (abortion, immigration, religion, etc.), the Democrat who wins the Latino vote in the primary is likely to be the one who best denounces the racism that has swept the country under the Trump administration, an opinion that somehow manages to unify this diverse voting group. In a USA Today poll, 70 percent of Latino voters felt that Trump’s rhetoric has encouraged anti-immigrant sentiment, racism or discrimination in the U.S. 

As of early December, the Democratic presidential contest in California — a state that has tremendous sway in predicting the outcome of the primary across the nation — remains fluid. A poll for the Los Angeles Times found that both Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who was the frontrunner in California in September, and former Vice President Joe Biden, lost ground among California´s Democratic primary voters. This drop in votes gave Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who narrowly tops the primary field, a boost. It has also helped Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., who has doubled his support in the state since the last September poll. As for the controversial former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg and his chances of seducing Latino voters in the next months, the odds are low. 

At this point in the race Latino, democratic voters are not sticking with a set candidate, but are still open to changing their opinions. So where do the candidates stand with Latino voters and their issues? Here´s a look at what the remaining candidates have been doing right and what they´ve been doing wrong to win their vote.

4Michael Bloomberg

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The former New York Republican mayor turned Democrat used to joke that a short, divorced Jewish billionaire could not win the presidency. Yet here we are. He has pitched himself as a counterweight to left-wingers like Sanders and Warren, who he says cannot defeat Trump. He says he has a leftish policy agenda, but he is not a fan of Medicare for All. His “stop and frisk” policy wasn´t only deemed unconstitutional, but it turned many Latinos off to him since NYPD officers disproportionately stopped black and Latino New Yorkers (83 percent of the stops from 2004 to 2012 according to ProPublica) despite their comprising about only half of the city’s population. On a positive note, since leaving office he has launched campaigns on gun control and climate change, which appeal to Latinos.