CNN: Democrats need to stop taking Hispanic voters for granted
CNN warned Democrats to pay better attention to the economy and cultural issues to win back Hispanic voters that were leaving the party, after Republican candidate Mayra Flores flipped a blue House seat in a Texas special election this week.
CNN journalists alerted Democrats that the Republican-won Texas special election in a historically Democratic district was a "big warning sign" to their party to stop taking Hispanic voters for granted.
Political analyst John Avlon worried that Republicans were appealing to Latinos on the economy and cultural issues, citing Donald Trump winning more Latinos in the 2020 election than he did in 2016.
Avlon warned the Democratic Party was missing the mark by using "identity politics" with the "diverse" community of Hispanic voters, of whom 52% identified as independent in 2021.
"[T]hat’s ten points higher than the population overall. So you can see why Democrats default to identity politics doesn’t really work. Here is more evidence, polling shows that one in four Hispanic voters have even heard of the politically correct term ‘Latinx’ and only 3% use it to describe themselves," he said.
Republican congressional candidate Mayra Flores, who won a special election on Tuesday in Texas' 34th Congressional District. Flores becomes the first Mexican-born woman ever elected to Congress (Mayra Flores congressional campaign)
"This massive American community cannot be taken for granted by Democrats any longer," Avlon cautioned.
Political commentator Van Jones agreed that Democrats were losing with Hispanics concerned about the economy and socially conservative issues.
"Democrats don’t see this coming, we overreact to the cultural moves, under-react to the economic appeal and you’re seeing a pay-off for MAGA," Jones began.
He described Trump’s populist appeal and Republican wins on the issue of Critical Race Theory in schools as a "MAGA threat" stealing away voters from the Democratic Party.
Van Jones delivers a speech at the 2019 African Landing Commemorative Ceremony, observing the 400-year anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Virginia, in Hampton, Virginia, U.S., August 24, 2019. REUTERS/Michael A. McCoy
Jones said Democrats' messaging made them appear out-of-touch to middle class minority voters.
"I have never met a ‘Latinx.’ I’ve never met a ‘BIPOC' ("Black and Indigenous People of Color"). This is obviously weird stuff that these highly educated people say, its bizarre," Jones said, referring to the "weird" terms progressives use to appeal to young, college-educated liberals.
Latino voters have rejected the politically correct term "Latinx" preferred by some Democrats, with one 2021 poll showing only 2% of Hispanic voters even use it. The poll also showed 40% of Latinos were bothered by the term, and 30% said it would turn them off from voting for a candidate who used the term.
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks at a rally for Democratic Congressional candidates Jessica Cisneros and Greg Casar, Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The CNN political commentator also criticized Democrats for smearing all Republicans as racists and making assumptions about Black and Hispanic voters.
"The normal narrative in America has been all Black and Brown people hate racists, all Republicans are racist so all Black and Brown voters are going to vote for Democrats. All of that doesn’t make sense in the real world. All Republicans are not racist and Republican appeals are not just racial, some of them are economic, some of them are cultural and all Black and Brown folks are not liberals," Jones argued.
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A George-Soros-linked group has recently taken steps to acquire a popular Spanish-language conservative talk radio station in Miami, Florida, in an attempt to reach voters, outraging staffers at the network.