Latino voters and leaders say they are excited about Kamala Harris as Democratic presidential candidate, But to win her crucial support, they want to know where she stands on economic, immigration and education issues.

Vanessa Cruz Nichols, an assistant professor of political science at Indiana University, said Harris has significant potential to appeal to Latino voters but will need to win over independents and those who do not plan to vote in November’s election.

“She has some work to do, reintroducing herself and letting people know where she stands on a number of issues,” Cruz said. “She has to work aggressively to appeal to voters, especially young Latino voters who are even more nonpartisan and more willing to either sit out an election or vote for a third-party candidate.”

As the country’s largest minority group – 19.5% of the total population, according to the 2020 census – Latinos form a key voting bloc in what is shaping up to be a close presidential election. Harris, the daughter of immigrants, has won the support of influential Latino groups, and some say her success depends on mobilizing young Latino voters.

Maria Teresa, President of Latino voicesaid Harris’ entry into the race had created “community cohesion.” In focus groups the organization convened after President Joe Biden announced his exit from the race, more than half of young Latinos who initially said they would vote third-party said they would now switch to the Democratic Party, Teresa said.

“There is no path to the White House without the votes of young Latinos,” she said. “Our path to moving the country in a different direction is through young people.”

According to AP VoteCast, more than 6 in 10 Latinos supported Biden in 2020, and 35% supported former President Donald Trump. a July survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that only about four in 10 Latinos said they were somewhat or very optimistic about the future of the Democratic Party, and about a quarter said the same about the Republican Party.

Accordingly the same surveyHispanic adults are divided in their opinions of Harris: 44% are positive, 43% are negative. However, about half of Hispanic adults said they were happy with Harris as the Democratic candidate, up from just 15% in early July.

After watching the presidential debate between Trump and Biden, 35-year-old Peruvian-Mexican small business owner Guillermo Francisco Cornejo said he would not vote in the presidential election. That changed when Biden withdrew and endorsed Harris. But Cornejo’s decision was largely driven by fear of Trump’s reaction if he won, he said.

“Now it’s: Yes, I will definitely vote for the Democrats,” Cornejo said, adding that he believes Harris is “very well qualified” for the office of commander in chief. “If Trump is elected, he will turn this country into Latin America in the way he does politics and everything else.”

On Friday, the League of United Latin American Citizens, through its political arm, the LULAC Adelante PAC, endorsed Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. It was the first time the nation’s oldest Latino civil rights group has endorsed a presidential candidate since its founding in 1929.

“We can trust them to do what is right for our community and the country,” said Domingo Garcia, chair of LULAC Adelante PAC and LULAC’s former president, in a statement. “The politics of spreading hate and scapegoating Latinos and immigrants must end!”

Harris was criticized for comments she made in 2021 Telling migrants not to come to the United States when they tasked with monitoring diplomatic efforts to resolve migration problems in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras and pressure on these countries to strengthen security at their own borders.

But Harris is a daughter of immigrantsmakes many Latino families feel represented, which could help them get their votes, civic engagement advocates say.

Pascale Small, 35, a Costa Rican woman and single mother of three Afro-Latino girls, said Harris appealed to her because of her family background and her “commitment to helping us heal and grow as a country.”

“She has a spirit of service that I really admire and appreciate. She is incredibly driven by justice and that is very important to me as I raise my children,” said Small, who wants the vice president to address issues such as climate change, education, the economy and immigration reform.

Maca Casado, media director for Hispanics on the Harris campaign team, said Harris has a history of supporting Latinos and their important issues, such as health care and gun violence.

“Vice President Harris’ campaign recognizes the political power of Latinos and is the only campaign aggressively advocating for their cause because we do not take their votes for granted,” Casado said.

But Bob Unanue, chairman of the America First Policy Institute’s Hispanic Leadership Coalition, said Trump – not Harris – continues to show commitment to issues that resonate with the Hispanic community, such as job growth, educational freedom, parental rights and securing the border.

“Unlike Kamala Harris, who has failed to address the crisis at our southern border … and continues to promote failed economic policies, Trump offers a vision of prosperity and security that many Hispanic voters rally behind,” Unanue said.

Experts say Harris’ choice of Walz will help the campaign appeal to voters in the key swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Teresa, the president of Voto Latino, said in a statement that Walz has been strong in defending democracy, voting rights and standing up for working families in Minnesota – values ​​that align with those of the Latino community. Harris also has the opportunity to make her case in states like Pennsylvania, where many Puerto Ricans live and who, as U.S. citizens, are allowed to vote once they move to a state, Teresa said.

Charlotte Castillo, Managing Director of Poderists a nonprofit organization that aims to increase civic participation among Latinas, said the announcement that Harris would be the Democratic nominee has mobilized many in the Latino community, and as in previous elections, it will be crucial.

“I think Latinas in particular are, as we usually say, the CEOs of their families. They make the decisions for their families and have a huge influence on them,” Castillo said. “So I believe Latinas have the potential to have a really outsized influence.”

Castillo said the party that consistently appeals to Latino voters will get their vote.

“Once the community is engaged, it stays engaged,” Castillo said. “Both parties need to start knocking on doors and do it more consistently.”

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AP Polling Editor Amelia Thomson DeVeaux in Washington, DC, contributed.

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