Latino voters right to celebrate in Biden inauguration
20th Jan 2021
The presidential election wasn’t “stolen,” it was earned.
Today, as a nation, we celebrate the inauguration of President Joe Biden. We celebrate because our 46th president is living proof of what can be accomplished when many people from varied groups in a multi-diverse society work toward a singular and positive result. In Arizona’s case, it was the Grand Canyon State for only the second time in history to have voted Democratic in the presidential race since Harry S Truman in 1948.
The margin of victory: 10,457 votes.
Chicanos Por La Causa Action Fund and the CPLC Action Fund PAC did their part through 2020 voter outreach; voter education; voter engagement; voter registration; get-out-the-vote efforts; campaign contributions; campaign endorsements; social media messaging; and traditional media interviews and expertise – all focused on the Latino vote.
In Arizona alone, more than 100,000 Latinos were directly targeted, and many thousands more reached via social and traditional media, as well as other strategic efforts. But the outreach went far beyond Arizona’s borders. And while the individual results were mixed, they were overwhelmingly promising for the Latino Southwest. As Arizona turned blue, Texas remained red in favoring Donald Trump but notably by a narrowing margin. Meanwhile, Nevada continued to build on its recent switch to blue, thereby solidifying the deep and connected shade of blue in both California and New Mexico.
It was time to go “blue” in our efforts to defeat Trump’s reelection bid because the Latino community had been vilified and demonized over the last four years, as migrant families were separated, a border wall wasting billions of dollars to send a racist message to our closest neighbor, and all social justice and economic development for underserved population purposely undercut. Meanwhile, the Latino community continued to be ravaged by the Covid-19 virus in disproportionate numbers by a Trump administration in denial.
It was time to support Biden, which we also did through the CPLC Action Fund PAC endorsement. It was time for a better tomorrow, which begins with the inauguration in Washington, D.C. It was time for change.
As the 2020 election is sliced and diced by analysts and pundits, it will become increasingly apparent that the Latino vote – the largest ethnic voting bloc in the nation – will be key to victory for both political parties. More importantly, for the immediate future, Latino leadership must be recognized as being essential in addressing the myriad of challenges and opportunities nationally and in the growing Southwest.
It was hard work by many in electing Biden for president. There is much work to be done in education, immigration, affordable housing, economic and workforce development, health and human services, and of course social justice and equity.
Our inauguration celebration will be both long remembered and short lived, as CPLC Action Fund stands ready, willing and able to help the Biden administration and Congress move this nation forward at a time of great crisis. We stand next to our friends, partners and supporters to advance the cause. And we stand with you and yours as together we build generational and lasting change for the Latino experience.
As it should be, hard work is the true reward for hard work. Let’s get to work.