by Alex Gonzalez
Biden is gearing up his campaign in Nevada and Arizona to rally Latino voters, who, according to polls, are not displaying high levels of enthusiasm. Despite Republican claims since 2020, they haven’t managed to sway any Latino voters. While the red wave didn’t materialize in 2022, low turnout among Latino and black voters ultimately pushed the House of Representatives to the GOP
In 2022 Midterms, Arizona Democrats did secure victories in the Governor and AG races with narrow margins of less than 1%, and Secretary of State by 5 points. But, Sen. Kelly secured reelection with a comfortable 5-point margin. Interestingly, all GOP candidates who lost were aligned with MAGA conspiracy theories and election denial.
The outlook for the 2024 Presidential and US Senate races remains uncertain. While Biden and Kelly claimed victory by 2.5% in 2020. This year, a Ruben Gallego-Biden ticket will in the ballot in AZ. Polls indicate that in a head-to-head matchup between Ruben Gallego and Kari Lake, Gallego holds a substantial lead of 8.5%. Gallego’s popularity in AZ surpasses that of both Biden and Lake, potentially bolstering Biden’s support in November; And Mark Kelly won reelection win by 5 points in 2022.
The biggest challenge Democrats face in 2024 in states like AZ and NV is enthusiasm. Gallegos popularity in AZ could be the solution.
Over the past 8 years, Latino voter engagement in AZ has been remarkable, culminating in a record-breaking turnout of 60.8% in 2020, the highest among Hispanic states, even surpassing older Cubans in FL. However, turnout Among Latinos drop to only 40% in 2022 in AZ.
The prospect of a Gallego-Biden ticket holds promise for energizing Latino voters in AZ. If you were to take the polls seriously, Gallegow is already in a better position than Sinema and Sen. Kelly were in 2018, 2020, and 2022 at this time.
Therefore, the three things that can help Biden in AZ in 2024 will be high Latino turnout, similar to 2020, Gallego’s popularity, and more MAGA candidates, including Trump himself, on the ballots.
There is also the so-called McCain Republicans in AZ who refuse to vote for Trump. This bloc of “Republicans for Biden” voters is mostly white, middle-class individuals in the suburbs who, since 2020, have helped Biden win.
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Alex Gonzalez is a political Analyst, Founder of Latino Public Policy Foundation (LPPF), and Political Director for Latinos Ready To Vote. Comments to vote@latinosreadytovote.com or @AlexGonzTXCA
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