Somos PAC Reaffirms Commitment to Reaching and Engaging Latino Voters
Somos PAC, Which Runs Some of the Largest Independent Latino Voter Engagement Programs in the Country, Looks Ahead to 2025 and Beyond With Its Year-Round Engagement Programs
Washington, D.C. (November 15, 2024) – Today, Somos PAC, which runs some of the largest independent Latino voter engagement programs in the country, released the following statement from Founder and President, Melissa Morales:
“We need to begin telling the full story about this election, and Latino voters. We do ourselves a disservice if we do not acknowledge that Donald Trump made real gains with Latino voters this election cycle, which were part of broader rightward trends across demographics and geography.
“At the same time, we should also recognize that a majority of Latino voters in battleground states, including Latino men, did vote for Vice President Kamala Harris. In fact, data shows that Vice President Harris was able to close the gap on the economy, the top issue for Latino voters, in a very short amount of time by talking about economic issues like small businesses and homeownership.
“But it was just not enough to overcome the rightward shift where it mattered. That rightward shift among voters who turned out this election transcends just Latino voters. To move forward effectively, we have to understand the underlying issues.
“We have an opportunity to learn from both this Presidential loss and our wins. Latinos helped elect Democrats in battleground states down ballot. Arizona elected its first Latino U.S. senator, Ruben Gallego, Nevada and Wisconsin re-elected their Democratic senators and Michigan elected Elissa Slotkin. The economic policies Democrats put forward continue to be very popular, including lowering prices by banning price gouging, and ensuring the big corporations pay their fair share in taxes.
“For Latinos, this election was a referendum on the economy. One that is clear from both the data and from the over 300,000 conversations we had with Latino voters in the weeks leading up to the election: working people in this country, including Latinos, are simply not feeling enough economic improvement in their everyday lives.
“Our mandate moving forward is to continue advocating for economic policies that provide working people, including Latinos, with the tools and opportunities they need to feel like they are actually building good lives. And that includes ensuring our community is aware how the economic policies of the Trump administration are affecting their everyday economic lives as those policies are rolled out in the coming weeks, months and years.
“We have the power to turn fear and uncertainty into action and hope. And it starts now.”
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About Somos PAC
Somos PAC is a Latino-led, Latino-focused organization that runs some of the largest independent Latino voter engagement programs in the country. Our mission is to empower hard working Latinos in shaping the future of our democracy by increasing our participation in elections and by electing progressive candidates. Visit https://www.somospac.org/ for more information on this program and other projects, and follow the organization on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and X.