Yes Democrats Are Taking Latino Voters for Granted (Again)

The party has the money & machinery so why is so little going toward Hispanic Outreach? By Adrian Carrasquillo Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C.  In the 10 states with the largest Hispanic populations between 40-to-43 of the Latino Community has not yet registered this year said Ben Monterroso Executive Director of Mi Familia Vota. The bottom line is if were not invited to the party were not coming." During the month that the World Cup was broadcast on Floridas three Telemundo TV stations this summer one advertisement stood out. It begins with Colombian Mexican and Brazilian fans celebrating their national teams. Over a soaring score and a snare drum a voice cuts in:

We in Florida celebrate because we come from all over the world and this great state is now our home."

Then Republican Governor Rick Scott appears on camera the sleeves of his light blue dress shirt rolled up.

Im Rick Scott" he says in rapid Spanish. The time has come to enjoy the games. May the best team win!"

Scotts $700000 investment in the ad which aired at least once a day throughout the World Cup reaching 100s of 1000s of Latinos across Florida suggests that he sees their votes as a key element in his strategy to unseat Senator Bill Nelson this fall. The 75-year-old Democratic incumbent hasnt shown the same interest. While Nelson has taken strong stances on Latino issues he didnt invest in any World Cup ads of his own and as of July had only recently begun rolling out a Spanish-language page on his web site. (Scott had had one up for months.)

Such decisions (by the Democratic Party) reveal a cavalier attitude toward Latino voters that isnt just a problem for Nelson whose race is unexpectedly tight but for the party as a whole.

• Florida Primaries heat up and Gov. Scott maintains edge over Sen. Nelson in U.S. Senate race

Donald Trumps decision to strike down protections for young undocumented immigrants; the botched response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico; the ramped-up deportations and separated families at the border all these should help Democrats win over Latino voters.

Matt Barreto of the polling firm Latino Decisions said he has never seen them so frustrated.

A recent poll of 1000 Latino Voters found that more than 70 were very angry" about the separation of families at the border and about Trump calling immigrants animals." And yet Democratic candidates are under-performing in key Hispanic districts: In Californias 39th which Hillary Clinton carried in 2016 Democrat Gil Cisneros is now trailing the Republican incumbent by 2 according to a recent poll; and in Texass Senate race Democrat Beto ORourke struggled during the primary to drum up support in the predominantly Latino border towns. (More recently in a May Quinnipiac poll he was lagging behind Ted Cruz with Hispanic voters 46 to 44.) Such signs should spur Democratic leaders who are relying on Hispanic support to win back the House to redouble their efforts to engage Latinos organizationally and financially.

But it hasnt happened. The money and the machinery is there. Its just that not enough of it is directed at Latinos.

With total spending on the midterm elections expected to reach $4 billion outside groups and super PACs have almost unlimited funds.

• Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer has pledged $30 million to take back the House.
• Liberal philanthropist George Soros has already spent $15 million.
• And Michael Bloomberg has promised $80 million.
• Yet none of the cash they have allocated has been earmarked exclusively for a major new initiative to reach Latinos.

Bloomberg has been focused on gun control and Steyer on climate change as well as impeachment. He has spent another $40 million on billboards in Times Square town hall meetings and TV ads urging the House to oust the president. If hed given Mi Familia Vota a Latino group that works to register and mobilize Hispanic voters that money they would have registered enough Latino voters by now to turn Texas blue" said Andres Ramirez a veteran Democratic strategist.

Yet most of these liberal mega-donors would scoff at Latino groups making this request" he added. They wouldnt even entertain it."

Part of the problem is whos in the room making choices about where to put the money.

The structural spaces that make these decisions constantly exclude Latinos" said Hector Sanchez Barba executive director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement.

The Democratic super PAC Priorities USA for example has long been criticized for having only a handful of Latinos on staff. (A spokesperson from Priorities said it is interviewing consulting firms to supplement our staff.")

This impacts how funds are distributed: Increasingly Latino outreach efforts are folded into broader plans to engage black voters and other minorities. This is the case at Steyers NextGen Rising and at George Soross Democracy Alliance which used to have an annual $5 million Latino engagement fund until two years ago when it was overhauled and given a new mission: to support Latino African American Native American Pacific Islander and LGBT groups. The funds director David Montez wont divulge how much of his current annual budget goes to Latinos saying only Its not enough." And even with Tom Perez the first Latino to head the Democratic National Committee at its helm the party has been little help. Apart from a $2.5 million effort to engage low propensity" voters which includes both minority groups and rural voters the DNC has only spent $100000 on Latino engagement in Florida and another $100000 in Pennsylvania.

They should be doing more of this work but frankly they dont have the money" said a DNC member who works on diversity outreach and who asked for anonymity to describe the state of the partys finances.

Without funds devoted to Latinos specifically its going to be difficult to turn them out let alone register them to vote. Adrian Carrasquillo has covered national politics and Latino issues for NBC News and BuzzFeed.