To win a senate seat, Adam Schiff and Steve Garvey must reach out to Latino voters | Opinion

Where are they?

California’s U.S. Senate contest is down to Democrat Adam Schiff and Republican Steve Garvey in the November General Election. But during primary season, I didn’t see either of those candidates’ ads on the Spanish-language television in my tia’s living room (that of my aunt). I didn’t see any Spanish-language commercials on the TV or on people’s phones or iPads when at the Mayahuel restaurant in downtown Sacramento.

None of the U.S. Senate candidates had a lock on California’s 8.5 million eligible Latino voters in a primary where only 7.3 million Californians voted. Millions of Latino voters were left asking, who are these candidates? What are their platforms and stances on issues that matter to my family and my community?

For Latino voters in California, the absence of political ads on Spanish-language television from Representative Schiff and ex-L.A. Dodger Steve Garvey, along with the rest of the field, was glaring — and telling.

Latinos are the largest ethnic population in the state and the second-largest in the country. We are also the fastest-growing demographic with 36.2 million eligible voters nationwide in 2024. To win, Democrats and Republicans must recognize our power and engage directly with us in a culturally- and linguistically-appropriate way.

In the primary, California’s Hispanic community felt excluded from critical political conversation. This is poor civic engagement, it’s bad for the candidates, and frankly, bad political strategy.

Latinos are no longer willing to be taken for granted by political campaigns. Our diversity, multifaceted nature and voting unpredictability make us a force to be reckoned with. This is a golden opportunity for the Senate candidates to win Latinos over, yet according to AdImpact, political advertising spending in the state was around $1 million for Spanish-language television stations. Compared to what the Wesleyan Media Project calculated was $31 million in U.S. Senate ad spending overall in California, that seems like an unforced error.

Latino voters will shape America’s future. California’s Senate candidates, like many politicians, have yet to realize that Spanish-language media is the thread that connects Latino voters — to each other, and to those in power. Despite Hispanics emerging in the 2020 presidential election as the largest non-white voting population nationwide, political campaigns allocate a mere two percent of their purchasing power to engage with this significant demographic.

We deserve better. Outreach through Spanish-language outlets provides a platform and gives a voice to underrepresented voters. Latino voters deserve to be engaged with and informed. They deserve to have a seat at the table with their non-Latino neighbors.

The conventional wisdom is that campaigns tend not to reach out to Latinos because they are not or have not been “likely voters.” But I believe Latinos aren’t “likely voters” because campaigns don’t reach out to them. If campaigns engage with this community, my view is that they will stay with whomever first engaged with them.

The future of California is in our hands. Senate candidates must connect with Latinos in order to win. If Senate candidates neglect Latino voters in California, they are effectively silencing a significant portion of the electorate with real needs.

Latino voters are looking for candidates with solutions, but candidates simply aren’t looking for them. U.S. Senate candidates, U.S. House candidates, state legislative candidates should all do what is not only right for California Latinos, but what is strategic and smart to win.