How Colorado is trying to turn out the Latino vote
Candidates and increased activism could help buck national trend
Dozens of canvassers, many of them young and wearing burnt orange Tshirts proclaiming themselves “New Americans,” gathered in a park tucked inside a neighborhood just north of a busy boulevard in Northglenn.
The paid canvassers from Pueblo and Greeley and Lakewood were weary after a day of trying to persuade voters in Denver’s northern suburbs to support Faith Winter, the Democratic state Senate candidate.
If they were successful, Republican incumbent state Sen. Beth Martinez Humenik will be out of a job Tuesday and control of the state Senate will shift to Democrats.
If they were successful, Colorado’s Latino voters will buck a nationwide trend and turn out for this midterm election,
which they have historically sat out in greater numbers than their nonLatino peers.
The first step to getting more Latinos to vote is to talk to them in person, said Nicole Melaku, executive director of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition Action Fund, a political nonprofit that advocates for immigrant rights that helped organize Saturday’s canvas.
“We need to make sure we’re at their doors, and the people having those conversations look like the voters and their life experiences,” she said. “And if we’re successful, we’ll show the electorate they have power.”
Across the nation, there are more than 29 million eligible Latino voters, according to Pew Research. In Colorado, Pew estimates there are 637,000 eligible Latino voters. That’s nearly 16 percent of the total votingage population in the Centennial State.
During the 2014 midterm, only 27 percent of eligible Latinos overall voted, Pew reports. This year, Democrats hope to capitalize on President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies to turn out more of them for their side.
One sign of growing momentum in Latino activism is the sheer number of community members running for state office in Colorado.
There are 17 Latino candidates running for election this year, according to the NALEO Education Fund, a nonpartisan organization that tracks Latino engagement in the political process; 10 are Democrats. Depending on the outcome, some political observers forecast a record number of Latino state lawmakers in the General Assembly.
“Latinos, like any other group, they want to be engaged and part of the process,” said state Sen. Leroy Garcia, a Pueblo Democrat and minority leader in Senate. “I’m encouraged by the work going on. I hope it can make a difference in 2018.”
Garcia said Trump’s attacks on undocumented immigrants have been fueling the activism inside the Latino community.
“We should have done more to engage the Latino community in 2016,” he said. “That’s a lesson learned. When Latinos turn out to vote, we win. We know that’s a fact. It’s incumbent on us to do the work.”
In the governor’s race, Democrat Jared Polis has produced a series of Spanishlanguage ads for social media, radio and television. One aired during the World Cup. The Democratic Party also has produced campaign literature in Spanish for its entire slate of statewide offices. Democratic candidates and other party leaders will spend this weekend encouraging Latino voters to return their ballots before Election Day.
Despite immigration not being a major defining issue for the larger state races, Trump has provided some grist on the campaign trail, with his family separation policy and recent decision to send troops to the U.S.Mexico border to stop a caravan of Central American immigrants.
Melissa Mata, an 18yearold Regis University student who was one of the canvassers, said she invoked the president’s name with residents who hadn’t committed to vote.
“If they really care about sanctuary, they should act on it,” she has been telling potential voters. “Because, it can go either way.”
Martinez Humenik’s support for an immigrationrelated bill is one of the reasons she’s being targeted by the group. The legislation, which never made it to the governor’s desk, would have asked voters to prohibit any socalled sanctuary policies that obstruct federal authorities from carrying out the nation’s immigration laws.
Opponents of the bill argue the language carried too many unintended consequences that could, for example, put schools at risk for merely busing schoolage children who are in the country without documentation.
“We’re up against a state Senate that has not been very friendly to immigrants,” Melaku said.
Melaku acknowledged the irony of an immigrant rights group actively campaigning against a Hispanic lawmaker.
“I can’t vote for a person who won’t stand for my community,” she said. “I won’t vote for someone just because of their last name. It’s about values, not a surname.”
Martinez Humenik, in an interview, defended her record and said she votes for what her district wants.
“We as legislators, when we take our oath, we must uphold the laws of our state and federal laws,” she said. “The administration back in D.C. has made a determination that sanctuary cities encourage people to come here illegally. … We need to uphold the laws we have.”
The Republican lawmaker also argued that immigration is not the most important issue to voters in her district.
“What I’ve been finding with that community is that they want the same thing that everyone else wants,” she said. “They want good jobs, they want to put a roof over their heads, a good education for their kids.”
Martinez Humenik said her work on mental health services, the criminal justice system and renters’ rights have improved the lives of her constituents.
“Those are the types of bills that help everyone — including our Hispanic community,” she said.
While it appears Democrats in Colorado are making a stronger push to capture the Latino vote, Republicans aren’t just playing defense.
U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, the Aurora Republican who represents Colorado’s 6th Congressional District, has immersed himself in the district’s Latino community. He spends every morning studying Spanish grammar to sharpen his skills for his weekly Spanish radio interview. He regularly attends Spanish Mass at St. Michaels and Queen of Peace, both in Aurora.
Tyler Sandberg, Coffman’s spokesman, acknowledged the challenge the Trump administration poses to Republicans, but said the Latino community recognizes when a candidate is genuinely invested in their issues and when they’re pandering.
“We’re facing the shadow of Donald Trump,” he said. “But Congressman Coffman’s attendance at events both big and small has made a big difference. He’s tried to be as accessible and engaged in the community year and year out.”
Other Republicans have taken notes from Coffman. The party has produced its own Spanishlanguage newspaper advertising. State GOP chairman Jeff Hays has participated heavily in Hispanic organizations such as the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a GOP spokesman said. And attorney general candidate George Brauchler has made his own appearances at churches serving large Hispanic populations.
Another notable effort to engage Colorado’s Latino community comes from the conservative political nonprofit Americans For Prosperity, founded by conservatives Charles and David Koch. Its program, the LIBRE Initiative, which promotes freemarket ideas in Latino communities, is working to turn out voters against Amendment 73, a tax increase for schools.
“Increasing taxes on individuals and businesses is never a good idea,” said Wadi Gaitan, a LIBRE spokesman. “When you look at the Latino community, we’re a community of entrepreneurs. It helps us reach the American dream. Amendment 73 would raise taxes, so we automatically see this as not of benefit to our community.”
To fight Amendment 73, LIBRE has purchased both television and digital ads in Spanish. The Colorado staff and volunteers have canvassed neighborhoods and have been hosting regular events for members and their families.
“When it comes to elections, the more people we have participating, the more people are taking their civic duty seriously, the better off we are,” Gaitan said. “We’re a growing community across the nation, we’re a growing community in Colorado, we’re contributors to the economy, we’re working toward the American dream, and that includes participating in elections and voting.”