California’s Latino vote isn’t a sleeping giant; it’s a cactus. We’re nourishing and hardy and bear delicious fruit for those who know how to pick it — but take us for granted, and we’ll cut you up good.
Democrats haven’t felt our pricks for a generation. That’s why I see an air of desperation around Newsom these days. He has spent a good chunk of this year crisscrossing California for photo ops and rallies flanked by Latino Democratic leaders Newsom is counting on to save his political nalga.
He has visited San Diego’s Barrio Logan to talk with a small-business owner. In Fresno, the governor stopped by a health clinic to sign a bill that lets undocumented immigrants over 50 qualify for Medi-Cal. He even appeared over the weekend in East Los Angeles to indulge in that most hoary yet delicious of political cliches: a meet-and-greet at a Mexican restaurant.
Newsom tried to run on the idea of a California comeback early on, but soon realized it’s not a winning proposition for Latinos. Because where are the good times for us during this pandemic? Too many of us remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 even as the disease has devastated Latinos. Our kids make up the majority of students in California public schools grappling in a variety of ways with reopening amid the surge of the Delta variant. Latinos remain disproportionally unemployed, underhoused and overburdened, with little relief in sight.
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