Nevada Results Show Potential Power of Women of Color in 2020 Election

Voters of color flexed their muscles in Nevada, propelling Sen. Bernie Sanders to a decisive victory in last weekend's caucuses — an outcome that advocates for women of color say comes as no surprise.

Non-white voters — particularly women of color — could be a potent force for Democrats hoping to beat President Trump in November, Aimee Allison told an event in Las Vegas shortly before the caucuses. Allison, who founded She the People — which aims to elevate the voices of women of color — hosted a panel discussion featuring prominent Nevada activists just days before the caucuses.

Allison said her team analyzed some state-level data and discovered that if women of color turn out in numbers just 3% to 5% higher in seven key states than they did in 2016, Democrats can take back the White House this year.

"No [Democrat] is going to win the primary and the White House without the enthusiastic support of women of color. We are the core of the Democratic Party vote," Allison said.

Grace Vergara-Mactal, executive director of Service Employees International Union Local 1107, which represents 19,000 hospital and public workers across Nevada, said the key to boosting turnout is convincing women that their voices matter. She had a direct message:

"You are part of the 5% that will make change in this country," she said. "Thousands and millions of families and women of colors and everybody are suffering. And if we don't think that we have the power to change, you're wrong. Women of color have a lot of power. So now it's our turn."

Stephanie Valencia agrees. She’s co-founder and president of Equis Labs, which has been conducting polling on Latino voters in 10 battleground states. She said there are 32 million eligible Latino voters in the U.S., and that her polling shows Latinas are particularly motivated against Trump this year.

"Latinos are the new swing voter. There is an element of us that are very, very progressive, as we have seen in people who are supporting Bernie. And there are folks that are more moderate and centrist. And that is the point, which is Latinos are not a monolith," she said.

Valencia said that means candidates and other campaigns have to spend time understanding the differences within the Latino community — which could vary widely from state to state — and working for their vote.

"We have to understand this nuance," Valencia said. "We have unpacked white swing voters in a thousand different ways — this community is the new swing voter. And we have to understand that and invest appropriately."

Female leaders in Nevada say that extends to other communities of color as well.

"I always want people to remember that black women are not homogeneous, and that we come in all different shapes and flavors," said Erika Washington, executive director of Make It Work Nevada.

"You could consider yourself a black woman and you still be part Latina or you could part Asian," she added. "Immigration issues do affect black folks. And so I think for us being able to organize black women, we are organizing anyone who identifies as a black woman."

Washington said that means campaigns listening, and learning, from communities.

"You need to make sure you see me for who I am and how I identify and respect it," she said. "Don't put me in a box. I'm not in your box. I am who I am. And you are going to respect it. And then you're also going to celebrate it. And then you're also going to make policies that fit my community."

What that doesn't mean, said Valencia, is that Democrats need to choose between women of color and white women.

"It is absolutely a false choice because those suburban swing voters care about a lot of the same issues that the really progressive young Latina cares about as well," she said.

Valencia said that while her polling shows Latinos across the U.S. do care deeply about immigration reform, she thinks of it as "a gateway issue for Latinos," but not the only policy they care about.

"It really is how they measure a candidate's compassion toward immigrants and toward our community, which is why I think Latino voters have such a visceral reaction to Trump's handling of immigration and separation of families and the border wall and putting kids in cages," Valencia said.

"That being said, at the end of the day, Latino voters want good health care for their families. They want good paying jobs. They don't want to have to be working two or three or four jobs to make ends meet. Education has always been a primary concern," she said.

But Valencia said her polling shows that the Democratic nominee can’t just depend on communities of color to engage because of anger against Trump — they need to find a way to inspire them as well.

"We have to have early and deep investment and engagement to reach and persuade Latino voters to not just depend on the anger that people have with Trump, to motivate them, but to give them something to aspire to. So ultimately, whoever the nominee is needs to have an aspirational vision that the Latino community feels like they can get behind," Valencia said.

The women leaders gathered in Las Vegas said that extends to other communities of color as well — and said that's probably a big reason Sanders did as well as he did in Nevada.

"I have seen campaigns invest here long term ... they've been campaigning here for years and it's quite exhausting. But I do appreciate that they're here because they're finally waking up in 2020," said Raquel Cruz-Juarez, board chair of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada.

Organizers like herself, she said, are asking these questions as they think about who to support: "Who were the candidates that care? Who are the candidates that are showing up to our communities visibly?"

Those candidates, she said, are the ones who will have success bringing communities of colors to the polls come November.