Former Bernie Sanders campaign aide describes strategy with Latino voters

A former aide to Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) campaign for president described how he gained popularity with Latino and immigrant voters during his 2020 presidential run. 

“Early on we knew health care was the No. 1 issue with Latinos in Iowa and Nevada,” said Chuck Rocha, a top aide to the Sanders campaign. “But we all knew to make a personal connection with Bernie and those voters who really didn’t know who he was.” 

Sanders overwhelmingly won the Latino vote in several early state Democratic primaries, a success Rocha attributed to the campaign “making a connection” with those voters early in the process. 

“We had plenty of time to talk about Medicare for all,” Rocha said. “We had plenty of time to talk about minimum wage and the Green New Deal. But we had to start that conversation with trust.”