The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), a 95-year-old civil rights organization and the oldest Latino civil rights group in the U.S., has made a historic decision by endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for the upcoming presidential election.
This marks the first time in which the organization, founded in 1929 to protect the rights of Americans of Mexican descent, formally supports a political candidate.
The endorsement was announced by Domingo Garcia, chairman of LULAC Adelante PAC and LULAC's immediate past president, as reported by NBC News:
"We are proud to endorse Kamala Harris and Tim Walz because of the real issues facing Latino communities and all Americans across the nation; we can trust them to do what is right for our community and the country."
García added that, even though the organization has refrained from supporting candidates in the past, they feel the moment has come to act. "Latinos understand how much is at stake in this election, for not only our community but our democracy," said García, adding that "the politics of hate mongering and scapegoating Latinos and immigrants must be stopped."
LULAC's endorsement is significant given its large membership base, which includes 535 local councils and 140,000 members, 86% of whom are registered voters. The organization intends to mobilize support for the Democratic ticket in key battleground states, marking its first national effort to get out the vote.
LULAC now becomes the latest in a long list of Latino leaders and lawmakers who are backing the Harris-Walz ticket, many of whom were critical of Biden.
The endorsement comes at a time when polls indicate Harris closing the gap on Donald Trump in battleground states such as Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina.
Nevertheless, the Vice President's popularity with this Latinos still trailing behind Biden himself in 2020, when he hovered around 60% of support. However, Biden had been steadily losing ground, with Trump able to almost entirely close the gap between himself and Biden among Latinos. Now, Trump is viewed favorably by only 39% of Latinos.
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