The Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Thursday announced a half-million dollar ad campaign in Spanish and English to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month.
The campaign will feature ads on Spanish-language radio stations and print, as well as bilingual digital ads.
“The Hispanic and Latino community is an important thread of the fabric of the American story and we have so much to celebrate this Hispanic Heritage Month,” DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison said.
“Latino voters are a powerful force in our democracy and Democrats have an incredible story to tell about the results we’ve been able to deliver for the Latino community because of their support. Democrats will continue our intensive work to earn the votes of Latino and Hispanic communities this month and every month beyond,” he added.
The Hispanic Heritage Month investment comes on top of a seven-figure investment announced by the DNC in spring as part of “Adelante,” the party’s 2022 Latino outreach program.
The focus on Hispanic outreach comes as Latino voters have attracted attention from both Democrats and Republicans, who see the community as an increasingly important strategic voting bloc.
Democrats launched Adelante in part to counter historical criticism that the party invested little and late in Latino outreach. Republicans this election cycle launched a minority community centers program to exploit that criticism.
Driving that attention primarily is demographic growth, as Latinos continue to be one of the fastest growing ethnic minorities in the United States.
Hispanic communities are also growing in places with competitive races both at the state and local levels, raising the prospect that Latinos could decide a number of key elections.
Beyond California and Texas, where about half of U.S. Hispanics live, Latino voters are set to play major roles in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
There are also a handful of districts scattered throughout the country where Latino voters — and candidates — could decide the composition of Congress.
A national tracking poll released by the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) on Wednesday shows Latino registered voters are likely to participate in this year’s midterms and that top issues in the news are likely to drive their votes.
According to the poll, 84 percent of Latino registered voters are either certain or likely to vote in the midterms.
Of those voters, 52 percent are decided or leaning toward the Democratic House candidate in their district, and 35 percent are leaning toward the Republican.
On the Senate side, 50 percent of Latinos who are eligible to vote in an upper chamber election are siding with Democrats, while 35 percent are leaning toward Republicans.
The NALEO poll, which will continue tracking Hispanic voter sentiment until the election, has a 4.9 percent margin of error, and is weighted to represent differences in the national Latino electorate.
Still, Democrats feel confident that national issues will drive Hispanic voters toward their party.
A top concern for 48 percent of Hispanics, according to the NALEO poll, is inflation, an issue that Democrats see as slowly edging their way.
The second most cited issue, by 28 percent of surveyed voters, is reproductive rights, an issue that’s been activating Democrats since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
And other issues seem to favor Democrats, even if by smaller margins.
For instance, 25 percent of respondents said they want the government to address mass shootings, while 11 percent said they were most concerned about crime.
On immigration, 13 percent said they want to prioritize immigrant rights, while seven percent focused on border security to control immigration.
“Latino and Hispanic leaders spur our nation’s progress forward — from grassroots movements all the way up to President Biden’s historic cabinet, each day America is made stronger by the contributions of the Latino community and Hispanic Heritage Month is a special opportunity to celebrate,” said Iris Martinez, the DNC’s Hispanic Caucus chair.