Los Angeles Democratic Mayor Eric Garcetti said the Democratic Party needs to take active steps to engage with Latino voters, including putting more Latino candidates on the ballot.
“I think it’s really important to do two or three things,” Garcetti said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
He continued, “One is to speak to Latinos in the communities where they are, run more Latinos and invest in long-term, you know, political infrastructure in Latino communities.”
Garcetti made his comments from Minneapolis as he crosses the country to boost Democrats in the midterm elections. He acknowledged in the interview that Latinos represent a “very diverse group” of backgrounds and interests, and said that in addition to immigration, Democrats needed to engage with Latinos on infrastructure, education and the future of work.
“People will show up when they are being talked to,” Garcetti said.
He said it can be a “tough sell” in majority-Latino districts for non-Latino Democratic candidates running against Republican Latinos.
“Latinos have pride to see a Spanish surname or to have somebody who they know comes from the same background, and they’re willing to cross over sometimes,” Garcetti said.
2020 decision before year is out
Garcetti added, however, that it was “very clear” President Donald Trump is hostile to Latinos.
Garcetti is one of many Democrats eying a potential presidential bid to unseat Trump in 2020. Asked on CNN where he was in the process of considering a bid, Garcetti said he believed he would decide before the end of the year and stressed the value he believed a mayor would bring to the presidential race.
“I’ll make a decision probably in the next couple months,” Garcetti said. “And I do hope whether I do or not, that mayors do look at this.”