Sep 13, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Biden adviser on Hispanic voters: "We know that we have work to do"

Senior Biden campaign adviser Symone Sanders said former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris know there is still work to do as they court Latino and Hispanic voters around the country, while speaking with ABC's George Stephanopoulos on Sunday.

The big picture: Latinos will be the largest non-white voting bloc in the 2020 election for the first time in history. Hispanic and Latino voters make up more than 20% of the electorate in Florida and Arizona, two swing states that President Trump won in 2016.

The state of play: Some Democrats have been warning that support for the Biden-Harris campaign among Latino voters has been dipping.

  • Former 2020 presidential candidate Julián Castro told "Axios on HBO," "I think that we could win the battle and lose the war. ... We could win in November, but you could see a potential slide of Latino support for Democrats."
  • Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has privately expressed concerns about the Biden campaign's efforts with Latino voters, saying they should campaign with people popular with younger voters like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), per the Washington Post.

What they're saying: "We know that we have work to do," Symone Sanders said. "We have said from the beginning, and Vice President Biden has been very clear about this as has Sen. Harris, that we are really working to earn every single vote in this country, and we want to earn the votes of the Latino Hispanic community."

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