Texas native Chuck Rocha knows a lot about how to reach Latino voters.
The former senior adviser for Bernie Sanders' 2020 campaign was pivotal in helping garner of Latino support. That success has lead to him being seen within the political world as an expert in engaging Latino voters.
Rocha said his politics are entangled with his identity. His upbringing in the Lone Star state paved the way for his success in Latino outreach strategies.
He grew up in a mobile home on a 30-acre farm near Tyler, Texas. Rocha calls himself a 鈥淢exican Redneck.鈥�
鈥淚 thought I was such a unique story ... this ... big brown man who sounds like an old white man when I speak, and I wear my cowboy hat and belt buckle and my boots,鈥� Rocha said. 鈥淏ut in an ocean of unique stories. We鈥檙e (Latinos) all so different.鈥�
He didn鈥檛 have many Latinos around him growing up so he relied on his abuelita to learn about his Latinidad. He has fond memories of her food.
鈥淵ou couldn鈥檛 walk into her house without your nose burning just a little bit because she had this rock bulk on a molcajete,鈥� Rocha said. 鈥淪he would make the peppers and she would grind them up and make salsa everyday.鈥�
Rocha鈥檚 Mexican father left his white mother when he was 5 years old. They reconnected in his late teens and formed a bond when he became involved in a labor union while working in a factory with his father. Rocha became a union steward, which was one of his first entryways into political organizing.
In his new book,Rocha shares how he engaged Latinos and tips on what future political campaigns do to mirror that success.
In his book he writes: 鈥淭here鈥檚 whole generation of young Latinos, who have come of age, graduated college, and are raising families. They lived through the pandemic and were worried about their mothers or their jobs and now have lived in this racial strife and police brutality. It really brings to light what the revolution was about.鈥�
Tip 1: Invest In Latinos By Making A Connection
While Rocha has worked for Democrats most of his political career, he said he doesn鈥檛 think the party鈥檚 ever done enough to reach Latino voters in Texas.
鈥淭he problem with Latinos in Texas, and the reason they are overwhelmingly more Republican than they are in other states, is because the Democratic party has not spent any money investing in that community to tell them what the Democrats stand for,鈥� Rocha said.
Don't sleep on Take it from the old something special is happening in the Lone Start State
— Chuck Rocha (@ChuckRocha)
According to the Pew Research, Latinos are projected to make up , but in Rocha鈥檚 eyes no party should expect the Latino vote without investing real money to reach them.
鈥淲hen you say to me, 'Why don鈥檛 Latinos vote at the same level as white people?' I say don鈥檛 expect us to show up at the same rate when you give us pittance,鈥� Rocha said.
Rocha鈥檚 deep understanding of the Latino culture is what made his outreach strategies so successful for Bernie Sanders. Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, a political scientist and professor at The University of Texas鈥� LBJ school of Public Affairs, said political operatives should take note.
鈥淗e said, 'Let鈥檚 create generous approaches' rather than trying to shoehorn in campaign strategies that have worked for other populations, and then we kind of just repackage it and pump it out to the Latinos,鈥� said DeFrancesco Soto.
The Sanders campaign鈥檚 geared toward Latinos made an authentic connection with Latino voters by focusing on the immigrant story. It started with Sanders talking about how his family got to America: 鈥淢y father came to this country from Poland at the age of 17 鈥� worked every day of his life. I grew up in Brooklyn. Many of the families are immigrants...鈥� the ad said.
Rocha said this helped break barriers.
鈥淭o build some commonality between you and an old Jewish Democratic socialist from Vermont, and say, look, I don鈥檛 look like you but I come from the same place you come from and let鈥檚 have a conversation about how to make America better,鈥� said Rocha.
Tip 2: Hiring Latino Campaign Staffers
The Sanders team hired over鈥� which Rocha said was more than any other presidential campaign during primary season.
鈥淚 hired the campaign manager. I decided where the budget was going to be spent. I was the person in the chair," Rocha said. "So guess what never got cut? The Latino budget never got cut.鈥�
Rocha emphasizes that if you鈥檙e looking to reach Latinos who you hire matters. He created the political consulting firm called , which he describes as a place where people of color can own their identity and make their mark in Washington, D.C. He鈥檚 mentored many Latinos over the 30-plus years he鈥檚 been working in politics.
鈥淚f you鈥檝e talked to Chuck, you鈥檒l know there鈥檚 not a lot of representation in upper management and senior management for campaigns,鈥� said David Sanchez, a Chicano from the Rio Grande Valley, one of the young Latinos Rocha鈥檚 helped get involved in politics.
鈥淚f you鈥檝e talked to Chuck you鈥檒l know there鈥檚 not a lot of representation in upper management and senior management for campaigns."David Sanchez, political consultant with Our Poder
Sanchez also runs a political consulting firm called that helps Democratic campaigns reach Latino voters. He first got involved in politics at The University of North Texas and worked with Rocha during Sanders' first presidential run.
Sanchez says presidential hopeful Joe Biden鈥檚 campaign has hired some Latinos, which he sees as a smart move.
鈥淲henever I started looking at their campaign infrastructure you start looking at lot of like people like , who鈥檚 from El Paso. Jackie Uresti..The state director for Biden is Latina,鈥� Sanchez said. 鈥淚 would say those kinds of things very few jobs get to go to Latinos.鈥�
Chuck Rocha believes, going forward in Texas, campaigns will need to do an even better job of this.
Tip 3: Focus On Younger Voters
Speaking directly to young voters, especially Latino voters, is a theme Sanders hammered during his presidential run. In March, exit polls showed Sanders receiving under the age of 30, and about half of Latino voters over all.
鈥淲e know that because we are a disproportionately young population that reaching the youth is very important," said DeFrancesco Soto. "You want to reach all young folks, but when it comes to the Latino population this is really where it is at.鈥�
Rocha said that if Democrats hope to turn Texas blue or Republicans want to keep it red, the goal is to get to young voters before the other guy does.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nobody talking to a newly registered Latina in San Antonio..." Rocha said. "She feels strongly about Black Lives Matter, but there is no person making that connection with the movement and the party.鈥�
Right now, he doesn't think anyone is really inspiring Latino voters. Not Donald Trump. Not Joe Biden.
Next election cycle, Rocha says, campaigns can't settle for the bare minimum.
This story is part of a series called 鈥淯nlocking the Latino Vote.鈥� See more stories from the series and get election news from around the state at .
Got a tip? Alejandra Martinez is a corps member and writes about the economic impact of COVID-19 on marginalized communities for 四虎影院. Email Alejandra at amartinez@kera.org. You can follow Alejandra on Twitter .
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