2020 Election Transformational for Latino Vote, Says UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía
UnidosUS Salutes Historic Election of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris
WASHINGTON, DC—With a turnout that exceeded expectations, especially in battleground states, Latino voters made their voices heard in the historic 2020 election. An estimated 15 million Hispanics voted in the election and made up at least 13 percent of the total electorate, making Latinos the second-largest group of voters in the country, second only to white voters.
“Our country achieved a long overdue milestone with the election of Joe Biden and the first woman—and first woman of color and daughter of immigrants—to be elected as vice president in our country’s history, Kamala Harris. This is a proud day for communities of color and our country,” said UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía.
“This was a transformational election for our community. We sought to make a difference in this election and, given the results we’ve seen so far, we succeeded. But this transformation did not happen overnight. It is the result of years of hard work and sustained effort on the part of Latino national and grassroots organizations whose mission was to give our growing population and electorate a greater voice and impact in the political process. UnidosUS registered 130,000 new voters ahead of the election,” Murguía continued.
“We have confirmed that the Latino vote was the margin of victory in at least Arizona, Florida and Nevada. And clearly that had an impact on both parties. As we have said for years, our community is not a monolith, but it is a force to be reckoned with. The lesson for both parties and for the media is that it is way overdue to get educated about the Latino community and to stop being ‘surprised’ by how we vote. We will no longer be taken for granted. With nearly a million Latinx people turning 18 every year for the foreseeable future, our voice and impact are only going to grow,” noted Murguía.
“And while there are Hispanic voters in both parties, there is remarkable agreement among all Latino voters on the issues they want elected officials to focus on—the pandemic, jobs, and health care. For example, Hispanic voters, regardless of party, are far more concerned with the pandemic than the average American. Our polling showed that 95 percent of Latino voters nationally think it is very or somewhat important to pass another economic stimulus, and that includes 93 percent of Florida’s Hispanic voters,” continued Murguía.
“And while it is also true that our country remains highly polarized, the majority of the American people, including the Latino community, have made their preference clear. They also voted for an end to the division and demonization coming from the highest office in the land. They voted for real solutions to the many challenges our country is facing. It is time, then, to get to work on bridging our differences and move our country forward. Our community is more than ready,” concluded Murguía.