Advocacy group releases interactive map to help Latinos run for office
There are 9 congressional districts, 21 state senate districts and 46 lower state House districts that are majority Hispanic but not represented by Latinos.
A Latino advocacy group is releasing a new online tool to help prospective Latino candidates run in districts where Hispanics are underrepresented.
The interactive map commissioned by Latino Victory Project cross-references Latino populations for candidates running at the federal, state and local level throughout the country.
“What this tool does is it allows candidates, party committees, our community to be strategic in thinking about where to invest in candidates, in races and in our future,” said Cristobal Alex, president of the Latino Victory Project.
The interactive map will officially be released on June 1.
The goal of the project is to increase the power of Hispanics at the ballot box.
While Hispanics have grown as a demographic force — Latinos are the second-fastest growing minority after Asian-Americans — democratic representation has lagged.
According to the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, there are currently 6,600 Hispanic elected officials countrywide, out of more than half a million total positions.
Of the nearly 45,000 federal, state and county positions covered by the map, less than 5 percent are held by Latinos.
