Major Latino organization moves its convention to Puerto Rico

The Latino Victory Fund (LVF), a political group dedicated to achieving Latino representational parity, will host its annual convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico, later this month.

The San Juan convention will be the group’s fourth annual convention, and the first not held in Washington, D.C.

“We chose Puerto Rico because number one, we want to draw attention to the island that is still recovering from the failure of our federal government,” said Cristóbal Alex, president of LVF.

{mosads}“Over a year has passed since Hurricane Maria and we need to make sure our elected leaders, the media and the public eye don’t quickly move on to the next terrible tragedy, of which there are several,” Alex added.

The LVF annual convention is expected to attract a wide array of Democratic elected officials who are either Hispanic or are invested in Hispanic issues.

Latino voters skewed heavily Democratic in 2018, with 73 percent of Hispanics nationwide voting for Democratic candidates, according to Latino Decisions, a party-affiliated firm that specializes in polling Hispanic voters.

The LVF convention will likely attract top Democrats who are considering a presidential run in 2020, as a renewed primary calendar — and opposition to President Trump’s immigration rhetoric — will give Latino voters a larger say in the party’s nominee selection process.

California and Texas, the two states with the country’s largest Latino populations, will hold their primaries on Super Tuesday in March; candidates who perform well with Latinos in those states are likely to pick up a significant delegate advantage early on.

The convention’s location and timing also coincides with the annual meeting of Bold PAC, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) campaign arm.

“It’s not a coincidence,” said Alex. “We consider Bold PAC our closest and most important ally and work very closely with the CHC — in particular its new incoming chair, [Rep.] Joaquin Castro [(D-Texas)], and the Bold PAC chair, [Rep.] Tony Cardenas [(D-Calif.)], and see it as part of our mission to increase their membership.”

Both conventions will focus on lessons from the 2018 election, which saw record-breaking midterm participation rates for Latinos nationwide, and initial strategy planning for the 2020 presidential election.

“We’re going to bring together elected officials from around the island, from around the United States, to talk about the path forward for Puerto Rico, and then we’re going to talk about 2018, and what worked and what didn’t work,” said Alex.