Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from producer Raymond Rapada Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Eli | Email Lauren JOE BIDEN’s campaign knows it needs to do a better job reaching Hispanic and Latino voters, with some polls showing a precipitous drop in support for the president among this cohort. But grassroots organizers don’t think the problem is Biden himself. CRISTÓBAL ALEX, a former senior campaign adviser and deputy Cabinet secretary, said a broader array of forces are contributing to the president’s poor numbers. The way to improve the situation, he argued, would be to emphasize factors like the economy. “Some of the gains that Trump made were because of concerns about Covid and an economic downturn,” said Alex, founding president of the Latino Victory Fund. Hispanic voters’ perception of the post-pandemic economy and persisting inflation are what he attributes to the decline in support for Biden, Alex said: The health and economic impacts of the pandemic hit Latinos at a disproportionately high level, and many Latinos are still trying to recover. The administration has hit the road in recent weeks to tout its “Bidenomics” message. For Biden’s team, the hope is that the push helps shore up the president’s standing with Hispanic and Latino voters, especially in swing states like Arizona and Wisconsin. “I do think that most voters right now are not paying attention to what's happening politically,” MARÍA TERESA KUMAR, CEO of Voto Latino, a group working to mobilize turnout, told West Wing Playbook. “They are paying attention to how much their gas costs and how much their eggs cost and their milk costs.” Alex believes Biden world is aware of the ground it needs to make up, which is why they tapped JULIE CHÁVEZ RODRÍGUEZ — a high-profile Latina with substantial campaign and White House experience — to serve as campaign manager. “We’re in the first inning of a baseball game and the president has already hit a home run by choosing Julie Chávez Rodríguez,” he said. But her hiring has also been muddled with missteps earlier. The campaign put out a Spanish-language page on the website that was rife with translation errors, a mistake that typically trips up campaigns early as they try to connect with a bilingual electorate. A spokesperson for the DNC emphasized that many of its efforts to grow Latino outreach prior to the midterms are being strengthened in anticipation for 2024. The DNC launched a “historic” seven-figure Spanish-language ad buy in 2022 and has since hosted training sessions to help organizers as part of its Adelante program targeting voters in person and online. Website kinks may ultimately be forgotten, overshadowed by other matters, like support from key Hispanic lawmakers, including Rep. VERONICA ESCOBAR (D-Texas), one of the reelection campaign’s co-chairs, and an effective message prioritizing Latino voters. Selling economic progress is front of mind. It may include speeches at manufacturing plants like Biden has done so far, but also targeted outreach that showcases representation and results. For example, Kumar and Alex believe ISABELLA CASILLAS GUZMAN — who heads the Small Business Administration and is traveling to Florida, Kansas and California this week to tout the Inflation Reduction Act — could use her role to highlight the growth in Latino businesses nationwide. “President Biden promised to be a president for all Americans, and to rebuild the American middle class, and that’s exactly what he’s doing, delivering for Latino families across the country, including lowering the Latino unemployment rate, expanding access to capital for Latino small business owners, and lowering drug prices for Latino seniors,” a White House spokesperson told West Wing Playbook. The spokesperson also noted "diverse and creative ways" the White House has engaged the community, including inviting Latino local radio stations to broadcast from the White House and hosting regular briefings with key Latino stakeholders and Latino reporters in Spanish. And while Republicans seem poised to use immigration and border control as a cudgel against Biden, organizers see an opportunity to highlight the contrasts between both parties on those issues. “If you ask the Latino voter point blank, is immigration a top issue for them, they'll say no,” Kumar said. “But if you say ‘Is safeguarding your father who’s the farm worker or your mother who is a hotel worker out of the shadows into a pathway of being part of the system permanently?’ that becomes a top three issue.” MESSAGE US — Are you ALEJANDRO MOLINA, senior policy adviser on the National Economic Council? We want to hear from you. And we’ll keep you anonymous! Email us at westwingtips@politico.com. Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe here!
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