Bernie Sanders met privately with Hispanic lawmakers on Tuesday.
Sanders, who has aggressively
courted Latino voters in his 2020 bid for the White House, is the third presidential candidate to sit down with Latino members under the auspices of BOLD PAC, the fundraising arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren have also talked with BOLD PAC.
Sanders spoke about immigration, Medicare for All, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and other issues, including his family’s immigrant roots. A Latino caucus member in the room said several undecided lawmakers were present, and that Sanders did not exclusively talk about economic issues.
“It was not what I expected. It was pretty impressive,” said the member. “He was very comfortable with us. He impressed the caucus, to be honest.”
The person added: “He really has learned from his past experiences with Latinos and Latino issues and the Latino caucus. It literally looked like a new Bernie.”
About a dozen members attended the meeting, which lasted roughly an hour long.
“The senator was grateful for the warm reception he received and he enjoyed the dialogue,” said Faiz Shakir, Sanders’ campaign manager. “We thank all the members for taking the time to meet following last votes.”
Sanders talked about investing more in Title 1 schools when asked about education. He discussed his efforts to reach Latino voters, arguing that he can beat President Donald Trump by bringing together a coalition of working-class white voters and younger people of color, according to a person in the room.
Sanders has polled first or second among Latino voters in recent polls, and an independent analysis
found he received more financial contributions from Latinos than any other candidate in the Democratic presidential field.
Members in attendance brought up the rising cost of prescription medication, the climate change crisis and infrastructure, BOLD PAC said in a statement.
“At the forefront of the conversation was the need for comprehensive immigration reform that recognizes immigrants are the bedrock of this country, safeguards America’s 700,000 Dreamers — whose lives are currently in the balance — and brings an end to Trump’s cruel immigration practices,” the political action committee said.
BOLD PAC’s political director, Gisel Aceves, said the group is interested in meeting with every candidate to discuss their plans to engage and mobilize Latinos.
Latinos “will most certainly be the path to win swing states like Arizona, Florida, and even Texas,” Aceves said. “It will not be enough for the nominee to run a few targeted ads during GOTV, these potential voters need to be persuaded, and that effort needs to start now.”
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