Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Allie Bice. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Eli The problem that President JOE BIDEN is facing with Latino voters is not that they’ve turned on him, advocates say. It’s that his message isn’t reaching enough of them. Forty-four percent of Latino voters said they had not been contacted by either political party, a campaign or any other organization, according to the latest data from The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. Come Tuesday, that could be a death knell for a Democratic party that has lost ground with Latino voters in recent years. Leaders in the Latino community overwhelmingly give the Biden administration high marks for engagement efforts and a series of policy successes that have a predominant impact on the population — from student debt forgiveness to historic gun legislation after the shooting in Uvalde, Texas. But they still believe more could’ve been done to get the administration’s message out to voters before Election Day. There’s a gap between policymaking in Washington and how people experience and understand the result of these policies, said LORELLA PRAELI, co-president of Community Change Action and a former Latino outreach director to HILLARY CLINTON. It’s not enough to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, she said, you also have to explain how it touches the Latino community. “This is one of those things that people can have as a point of reference for, ‘how does having Biden in the White House impact my life very directly?’” Praeli said. “Campaign the shit out of your wins ... You have to be out there selling it.” Of course, it’s tough to campaign on wins when there’s historic inflation. And a new Wall Street Journal poll published today found that concerns over rising costs are prompting Latino voters to move towards the GOP. “There’s D.C. speak, and then there is just, if every week, a Latina mother is going into the grocery store, and they’re walking out with less groceries every week,” Praeli said. But that just makes it all the more important for voters to be able to point to ways the Biden administration is directly affecting their lives, Praeli said. Part of that is selling issues like forgiving student debt or its $24 billion investment in child care stabilization funds. But advocates also argued that the administration should have better deployed top Latino leaders like Education Secretary MIGUEL CARDONA or Health and Human Services Secretary XAVIER BECERRA. “There is a really good bench that could be out there,” MARIA TERESA KUMAR, CEO of Voto Latino told West Wing Playbook. Cardona’s and Becerra’s offices contend they’re doing their part. Each averages four interviews per week on national, local and digital Hispanic outlets to highlight administration efforts, as well as encouraging Latinos to get vaccinated against Covid and to apply for student debt relief. The two administration officials, alongside ISABEL GUZMAN, administrator of the Small Business Administration, also participate in regular bilingual press calls for Latino reporters and Hispanic media, their representatives said. Cardona’s office highlighted six events since September, including the student loan-relief focused Hispanic Federation Education Summit on Nov. 2. A spokesperson also pointed to numerous other events like the Latino Economic Summit series. Becerra, meanwhile, kicked off the Latino Health Tour during Hispanic Heritage Month and has visited nearly a dozen cities in staples like Pennsylvania, Nevada and California. The White House also has a dedicated Hispanic media operation, and holds weekly meetings with Latino stakeholders. The Democratic National Committee, for its part, kicked off a Latino outreach program in May, running Spanish-language print and radio ads touting “progress made” under Biden and Democratic majorities in Congress. Building Back Together, the main outside group supporting the Biden agenda, launched a six-figure ad campaign targeting Latino communities in Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in September, focused on the Inflation Reduction Act and other Biden policies. But the fact that such a large chunk of Latino voters say they have not been contacted shows that there is more work to be done. Yet not everyone is ready to blame the president for that. CHUCK ROCHA, a former BERNIE SANDERS senior adviser and Dem strategist who focuses on Latino voters, noted that Biden isn’t on the ballot this year. He said the failures with Latino voter outreach fall on House and Senate campaigns, particularly those led by white managers and media consultants in predominantly Latino districts. “That’s why we’re gonna get our ass handed to us, and it ain’t Joe Biden’s fault,” Rocha said. “It’s how these campaigns have been run.” MESSAGE US — Are you JACOB SPREYER, Biden’s body man? We want to hear from you! And we’ll keep you anonymous. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com .
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