Harris-Walz campaign launches innovative effort to reach Latino voters

In what’s being touted as a first-of-a-kind effort to reach Spanish-speaking U.S. voters, the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz has launched an official WhatsApp channel.

The bilingual “Latinos con Harris-Walz” channel, which went live a week ago, had 4,619 followers as of Monday. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign does not operate any official WhatsApp channels. “Latinos con Harris-Walz” translates to Latinos with Harris-Walz.

The encrypted messaging app is widely used among Latino and Asian communities, according to Pew Research Center, which earlier this year said that 54 percent of Hispanic adults in the U.S. reported using the Meta-owned platform.

That was in comparison with 31 percent and 20 percent of Black and white Americans surveyed, respectively, according to Pew.

‘Meet Latinos where they are’

“The Harris-Walz campaign continues to expand the number of ways we talk to voters and the launch of the Latinos con Harris-Walz WhatsApp channel underscores our commitment to engaging in substantive conversations with Latino voters about the stakes of this election,” Harris-Walz Hispanic Media Director Maca Casado, said in a written statement. “While Donald Trump vilifies our community at every turn and uses us as a political punching bag, Vice President Harris and Governor Walz know the power of our community and are fighting everyday on the issues that matter to Latino voters.”

Casado said the campaign was trying to meet Latinos “where they are.”

Asked if Trump planned a similar WhatsApp strategy, his campaign instead chastised Harris’ record as vice president.

“Latino-Americans know Kamala Harris as the original Border Czar, the deciding vote that led to sky-rocketing inflation, and dangerously liberal,” Danielle Alvarez, campaign senior advisor, wrote in a statement. “President Trump’s message to our community is simple and built on his winning record: If you want the return of the strongest economy in over 60 years, rising wages, quality jobs, strong borders, and safe neighborhoods, then vote for him.”

Crucial electorate

Latinos in Nevada make up 20 percent of overall voters. In a tight race, they have a potential to swing elections.

A survey that started days after President Joe Biden dropped out of his re-election bid showed Harris gaining popularity with the Latino electorate with a lead of 18 percentage points over Trump.

An earlier poll before Harris took over the top of the ticket showed Trump only trailing Biden within the margin of error.

The WhatsApp channel’s first post was a video of Julie Chavez Rodriguez, the Harris-Walz campaign manager and granddaughter of Cesar Chavez of the United Farm Workers.

The campaign posted updates from the Democratic National Convention, including Spanish summaries of speeches from Latino U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Robert Garcia. In an English-spoken voice memo, Harris thanked the channel’s followers.

The Harris-Walz channel shows a verification checkmark from Meta.

Misinformation and disinformation experts told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that WhatsApp is primed for abuse by bad actors who target Spanish-speaking users, an issue that worries them as November’s elections loom.

The platform said that to combat the issue, it’s partnered with fact checkers from outlets such as Telemundo and TelevisaUnivison. Furthermore, it’s placed controls and limits on how the messages are spread and who they reach, giving users options to opt out, according to Meta, which also owns Facebook.

Meta on Friday said that Iranian hackers had targeted staffers in the Biden and Trump administrations, according to the Associated Press.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.