Democrats are working to regain support among Latino voters after the party lost significant ground in 2024—a shift that could determine control of swing districts with large Hispanic populations.
President Donald Trump won reelection partly by cutting into Democratic support among Latino voters. Vice President Kamala Harris won the Latino vote by three points in 2024, compared with the 25-point margin President Joe Biden achieved in 2020, according to the Pew Research Center.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus's campaign arm, BOLD PAC, launched a program in February to connect social media influencers directly with voters in competitive districts. Rep. Linda Sánchez of California, who chairs BOLD PAC, said the effort provides information to influencers and lets them create content organically.
"We're turning to trusted voices in local communities that have followings, giving them information and then allowing them to create content in a way that is organic and authentic," Sánchez said.
One participant is Alexa Flores, an Arizona resident with nearly 500,000 followers across social platforms. Flores previously focused on beauty and fashion content but shifted to political messaging following the Trump administration's immigration policies. She is scheduled to appear at get-out-the-vote events in competitive districts, including a wine tasting in Las Cruces, New Mexico, backing Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez against Republican Greg Cunningham, and a Día de los Muertos event in Tucson, Arizona, supporting Democratic candidate JoAnna Mendoza against Republican incumbent Juan Ciscomani.
Flores said her aim is straightforward: "My job is to get people to understand that so that they can go and move that needle."
BOLD PAC does not pay content creators for posts. The organization provides stipends of $1,500 per event to cover travel expenses.
The strategy reflects how Latino voters consume news. Thirty percent of Latinos regularly obtain news from social media influencers, a higher percentage than any other demographic group, according to Pew Research.
"Whether that's Instagram or YouTube or TikTok, that's how they're getting their information," Sánchez said. "So we need to be in those spaces."
Democratic strategist Stephanie Valencia said winning back long-term support from Latino voters represents an uphill battle for the party.
