Democrats lay the groundwork for the 2024 Latino vote
President Biden and top members of Congress are touting their agenda’s impact on the community in hopes awareness now will lead to action later.

Bidenomics, but make it Latino • President Joe Biden is still on the west coast with plans later today to promote what the White House is describing as a clean energy manufacturing boom powered by the Inflation Reduction Act.
The stop in New Mexico is an element of a broader push from the administration to sell what the president accomplished during the first two years of his term with the help of congressional Democrats, while educating voters about the real-world impact of their legislative record beyond the relentless partisan sniping that’s come to define Washington.
For Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) part of this education requires personalization.
Barragán, who chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, told Supercreator Daily the day the House adjourned for the August recess that her members planned to spend the break amplifying the impact of these landmark bills on Latino families.
Take the IRA, for example.
The law locked in lower monthly health insurance premiums, which made sure the 80 percent of uninsured Latinos with access to a plan for $50 or less each month and almost seven in 10 Latinos were able to find a plan for $0 a month in 2021 maintained their coverage. Barragán also pointed to the IRA’s climate investments that have led to new jobs in Latino districts as an outcome CHC members would be selling to constituents.
And there’s the PACT Act, the veterans health care law Congress passed last year, too.
Barragán detailed a recent event the CHC did in Arizona to reach out to Latino veterans to make sure they’re not left behind
“So there’s just a lot of angles on how what Democrats have been able to do that is going to impact our Latino communities, but also how do we get funding and dollars back from all this legislation,” she said.
The Harris factor • Inside the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris is viewed as someone with the identity and experience to speak to diverse coalitions, given her mixed-race background and four years as US senator for California, where Latinos represent the largest racial group in the state.
Harris traveled to Chicago last month to speak at the annual conference for UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization.
During her remarks, she advocated for immigration reform for Dreamers, farm workers, and other immigrant communities. And she noted how the administration’s policies have advanced the quality of life for Hispanic families by creating jobs, investing in small businesses, and, as previously mentioned, lowering health care costs. The speech was a profound departure from the infuriating comments she made on the root causes of migration in the first year of the administration.
Prior to the UnidosUS speech, Harris lifted up the contributions of Latinos when she hosted a reception for Dia de la Madres, known to most of us as Mother’s Day. She also held discussion i. April on reproductive health care with actress Rosario Dawson in Reno, Nevada, another sizable enclave of Hispanic and Latino folks. And for an administration that doesn’t do many high-profile TV interviews, the vice president joined Telemundo in Miami days later for an interview about a number of issues facing Hispanic communities.
2020 flashback • It makes sense that Barragán and House Democrats along with Harris and the White House would look to engage Latinos considering the role this coalition played in securing President Biden’s victory in 2020.
In 12 of 13 states analyzed in a report by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics In the January following the election, Latinos supported Biden over former President Donald Trump by a margin of at least two to one. In nine of those 13 states, the margin was at least three to one, including the swing states of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
The only state where Biden’s margin among Latino voters was less than two to one was Florida. And despite Trump earning a majority of Latino voters in Miami-Dade County, Latino voters supported Biden by a two-to-one margin in every other county in the Sunshine State. Overall, Latinos cast 16.6 million voters in 2020, up 30.9 percent from the 2016 election.
“The report makes it clear that Latino voters are a swing electorate,” Rodrigo Dominguez Villegas, one of the report’s authors and the research director for the Latino Policy and Politics Initiative, said at the time. “That means that future campaigns seeking to capture their vote must engage in meaningful outreach and engagement.”
The 2024 state of play • But the prevailing tension is that while the White House and congressional Democrats would prefer to discuss their efforts to implement the laws enacted during the last Congress, voters are as interested in a vision of a potential second Biden term and Democratic-controlled legislative branch would mean for them going forward.
Not to mention, the fundamental changes that coalition voters demand often collide with the reality that Congress is an institution designed to advance incrementalism. We saw this in living color with Build Back Better, voting rights, filibuster reform, and pretty much any policy that Biden has been unable to will across the finish line. In a worst-case scenario, the emotional residue from these first-year setbacks may keep disillusioned voters home in an election that will come down to turnout.
To avoid this, leaders in the Latino community have told Biden campaign officials and members of Congress to engage early and often. And although brown and Black voters are significant voting blocs, they’re not monolithic ones. So mobilizing trusted messengers to meet voters where they are is also paramount.
Asked and answered • For now, Democrats like Barragán are focused on making the most of a month at home with constituents after seven months of chaos under the Republican House majority.
“My constituents always energize me,” she said. “And this year, it feels like we‘ve been here, I think, more than usual, and so constituents really need to see you and be with you in the district.”
Some of these constituents are the more than 1,100 majority Latino and Black seniors that will attend an annual fair — with a mariachi band to boot — to learn about some of the caps on prescription drug pricing
that were cut in the IRA and get their questions answered about housing, another pressing issue for the community.
“So we have a lot to go through with them and we’re looking forward to it.”
👋🏾 HI, HEY, HELLO! Welcome to Supercreator Daily, the essential guide to the politicians, power brokers, and policies shaping the American creator experience. Good Wednesday morning. It’s Wednesday, August 9, 2023. Reminder: Today is the deadline for veterans and survivors to apply for backdated benefits under the PACT Act.
STATE ISSUE 1 DEFEATED • Ohio voters delivered a decisive rebuke of State Issue 1, a Republican-backed referendum that would have required the approval of 60 percent of Ohioans to approve any proposed amendment to the state’s constitution. The defeat paves the way for Ohio to enshrine the constitutional right to abortion care with a simple majority in November. “This measure was a blatant attempt to weaken voters’ voices and further erode the freedom of women to make their own health care decisions,” President Biden said in a statement late Tuesday night. “Ohioans spoke loud and clear, and tonight democracy won.”
CBC FILES OBJECTION TO AL MAPS • The Congressional Black Caucus filed a friend-of-the-court brief objecting to the Alabama state legislature’s failure to redraw its congressional maps to include a second majority Black district. In June, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling to strike down a previous Alabama map because it violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by discriminating against Black voters. “We will not stand by and allow improper, racially discriminatory maps to stand without challenge,” Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), CBC Chair Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), and CBC members said in a statement.
ICYMI: “Surprise SCOTUS decision springboards Dems’s next voting rights push”
WATERS TO TOP CEOS: STAY WOKE • Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Industry sent a letter to the CEOs of US Fortune 100 companies to urge them to continue their diversity and inclusion efforts established following the murder of George Floyd. “Diversity and inclusion is needed now more than ever as America is expected to become majority people of color by 2045,” she wrote in the letter. “The recent Supreme Court decision on affirmative action in college admissions should not be used as a basis to attack workplace diversity initiatives.”
ICYMI: “The Supreme Court strikes down affirmative action”
MCDONOUGH ASKED TO EXPLAIN VA RACIAL DISPARITIES • Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) wrote a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough seeking an explanation of the agency’s low-approval rate of Black veterans for disability benefits. From 2010-2020, the approval rate for Black vets was 61 percent compared to 75 percent for white vets, according to a recent Government Accountability report. “While we applaud the amazing work VA has done to ensure that our veterans receive the compensation they are due, these reports indicate more work must be done for the VA to fulfill its duties to our service women and men,” Crockett wrote. Read the full letter.
CHIPS TURNS 1 • President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law a year ago today. The bipartisan legislation invested $280 billion in new funding to boost US research and manufacturing of the microchips that power most of our lives. And since its passage, private companies have announced $166 billion in private investments and 50 community colleges have announced new or expanded programs to help Americans get jobs in the semiconductor industry, according to the White House. “The CHIPS and Science Act is a key part of my Bidenomics agenda to bring investment and opportunity to every corner of the country,” President Biden said in a statement.
GHOST GUNS RESTRICTIONS RESTORED • The Supreme Court blocked a lower court ruling that prevented a Biden administration rule from enforcing regulations on untraceable homemade firearms known as “ghost guns” while legal challenges on the issue are decided. The vote was 5-4 with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joining the three liberal justices to allow the rule to take effect. Read the one-page order from the court.
1M CONSTRUCTION WORKERS GET RAISES • Vice President Harris announced new actions to raise wage standards for more than one million construction workers across America through a new rule under a law known as the Davis-Bacon Act. “We strongly believe every worker deserves fair wages for their work. So, I’m here today to announce that we are updating this law and giving workers across the nation a raise,” Vice President Harris said during an event in Philadelphia. “That’s thousands of dollars more every year to help put a down payment on a home, for example, or to save for retirement or simply to take their family on vacation.” Read the specifics of the new rule in this fact sheet.
IN MEMORIAM • DJ Casper died from a battle with cancer, Lisa Respers France at CNN reports. The Chicago native is responsible for the iconic “Cha Cha Slide,”‘which came out 22 years ago this month.
HAPPENINGS
All times Eastern
10 a.m. President Biden will receive his daily intelligence briefing.
1:45 p.m. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will meet with park rangers in Wyoming to discuss the impact of climate change on US national parks.
2 p.m. The president will speak about Bidenomics and investments in clean energy manufacturing in New Mexico. The second gentleman will tour Grand Teton National Park’s sagebrush habitat and hear about efforts to protect and preserve native sagebrush ecosystems.
2:15 p.m. Second Gentleman Emhoff will speak about climate change mitigation and conservation.
3 p.m. The second gentleman will meet with students participating in internship programs with the American Conservation Experience and the Park Ranger Law Enforcement Academy Training Program.
3:55 p.m. President Biden will travel from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Salt Lake City, Utah, arriving at 5:30 p.m.
Vice President Harris is in Washington, DC and has no events on her public schedule.
The House is out.
The Senate is out.
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