Clinton’s Hispanic helper

WASHINGTON — For Amanda Renteria, 2016 has made the political even more personal.

When she took the job as Hillary Clinton’s political director, making her the highest-ranking Hispanic staffer on the campaign, Renteria knew she’d play a key role in trying to awaken the sleeping giant of the Hispanic vote. She never imagined she’d do it while squaring off against Donald Trump and his anti-Latino xenophobia.

“My 3-year-old, who probably speaks better Spanish than English, recently told me ‘Donald Trump can’t win. He is going to say bad things about me.’ Those are those really personal moments that keep me up at night,” Renteria, 41, told the Daily News. “When I started this job I said it was a real honor to have it. Now I say it’s a real responsibility.” Even the prospect of President Trump isn’t enough to cloud Renteria’s sunny demeanor, for long, though. The idea of empowerment, of organization, is what fuels Renteria’s (photo, below) high-octane engine. The daughter of former migrant farmworkers is described by friends and co-workers as a Latina Leslie Knope, Amy Poehler’s “Parks and Recreation” character, whose quick smile obscures a steely competitive spirit. That drive helped launch her from California’s working-class Central Valley to Stanford University, and after a stint in finance into a fast-rising career in politics. And it’s helping her in her current role — strengthening and deepening relationships between Clinton and key power players in organized labor, Capitol Hill and different minority groups as Clinton looks to rally the troops against Trump.