SomosPAC is a Latino led, Latino-focused organization aimed at providing the first progressive, centralized hub for research, messaging, training, and mobilization of Latino voters. In partnership with allied organizations across the country, SomosPAC will engage directly with Latino voters in critical battleground states to persuade and mobilize them in support of progressive candidates and causes.
How We Move The Needle
Our mission is simple: to increase voter participation in Latino communities in order to elect leaders that will positively shape the policies and issues that impact their lives. Our objectives are to:
- Research: Conduct and share in-depth, unique research on Latino voters and communities focused on persuasion, turnout, and targeting within a huge and diverse group.
- Organize: Support Latino-focused grassroots organizing with our insights and practical tools developed from our research.
- Persuade and Mobilize: Engage, persuade, and turnout Latino voters, helping deliver wins in key races in battleground states.
Why it Matters
The importance of the Latino electorate has grown as the Latino population in the United States continues to surge. In 2018, 29 million Latinos across the country were eligible to vote, making up 12.8% of all eligible voters,1 and by 2020, Latinos are projected to be the largest minority voting group in the U.S. with an estimated 32 million eligible Latino voters.2
The importance of Latino voters in key races cannot be overlooked or taken for granted—a lesson we learned in 2016. Looking at Florida as an example, 1.3 million voting-eligible Latinos either did not register or did not vote in 2016—almost 12 times larger than Trump’s margin of victory in the state.3
With early investments in research and large-scale persuasion and mobilization efforts among Latino Voters, we can move the needle toward victory for progressive candidates and causes in 2020.
In 2018, we saw a surge in this electorate, with over a quarter of Latino voters nationally (27%) identifying as first-time midterm voters.4 While external factors, such as the rise of Trump and increased racially charged rhetoric, have helped drive engagement and turnout, winning in historically close margin states like Arizona, Colorado, Florida, and Nevada requires reaching new heights with Latino voters, especially as we seek to offset the Republican consolidation of White conservative voters.
See The Data
What We’re Fighting For
SomosPAC is working to engage Latino voters in battleground states in support of progressive candidates and causes that allow us to live without fear for ourselves and our families, with dignity, and respect. We’re building political power to move us closer to:
Affordable, Accessible Quality Health Care
Over 27 million Americans at one point did not have health insurance in 2019, with Latinos and people of color making up a vast majority of those uninsured and underinsured. Additionally, there are a number of barriers that face Latino patients when accessing care, including out-of-pocket costs of care, lack of information or services in-language, and a higher-risk of being insured because of immigration status. We must work toward a system where every human has access to high quality, low-cost health care.
Commonsense Immigration Reform with a Pathway to Citizenship
Millions of people who do some of the toughest jobs in America deserve a chance to move out of the shadows and become citizens. It’s also time to end the horrific and inhumane practice of separating children from their parents. That’s why it’s time to pass a comprehensive, compassionate immigration reform plan that keeps families together, creates a pathway to full and equal citizenship, and protects DREAMers.
Economic Justice for Working Families
Latinos and people of color make up a disproportionate share of the 60 million people working at jobs that pay poverty-level wages. And millions more Latino families are feeling the financial squeeze of rising costs for childcare, health care, elder care, and college tuition. Hardworking families need to be paid a fair wage for an honest day’s work. It’s time to build a level playing field that provides everyone an opportunity for success.