POLITICO: Democrats’ next push to be more likable with Latinos

Original Article: POLITICO
Democrats’ next push to be more likable with Latinos
By ALI BIANCO | February 18, 2026
DOWN IN THE LONE STAR STATE: You may not have heard of Carlos Eduardo Espina. But there’s about 14 million people across the U.S. who follow the Uruguayan-American’s Spanish content on TikTok, almost religiously. And it’s influencers like him that are forming the bedrock of the Democratic Party’s latest bet to win back Latino voters going into the midterms.
With the primary in Texas already underway, BOLD PAC, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ campaign arm, kicked off a new digital-first strategy called RUIDO aimed at mobilizing Latino content creators — about 50, to start — to reach voters and get them to turn out for Democrats. It’s a new approach for a coalition of voters that has historically had abysmal turnout in off-year elections, and who often never interact with a candidate in local races or receive traditional outreach.
“I think Democrats quickly realized, we need to reach this new set and this new demographic, or this changing demographic, of people so we can understand what they’re feeling, what they’re thinking,” Espina told your author. And doing so could mean a “new brand of the Democratic Party.”
Democrats think they have an opening with Latinos as polling increasingly shows frustration with Trump’s immigration agenda and with the cost of living. But there’s another problem that influencers like Espina are hoping they can help with — Democrats just haven’t been likable, he told Playbook. That much is still evident in the latest AP-NORC polling that shows positivity hasn’t bounced back in parts of the party compared to 2024.
It was creators like Espina who started sounding alarms within the party back in 2021 that Latino voters were souring on the Biden administration’s immigration agenda. The shift of voters toward Trump — especially in Texas, where Espina lives — was something he saw coming for years. But these Latinos aren’t “permanent Trump voters,” as Espina put it, and can be reached through a more community-focused approach to politicking. Latinos especially are among the biggest consumers of social media like TikTok.
“It’s very interesting how I’ve been able to break into a very non-political crowd,” Espina said. “My audience is not watching MS NOW. They’re not watching CNN.” The idea is a creator like Espina works with candidates to encourage early voting, to promote their message in Spanish and raise visibility across platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. The influencers can then provide feedback to the party about what their followers say actually matters to them. “It’s in the very early stages, but I think it’s a great step in the right direction,” he said.
The program’s aim is to lock in voters ahead of the general election, rather than waiting until crunch time in the fall when candidates start releasing Spanish ads. “Whatever votes turn out, you’re banking those votes for Election Day,” Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), one of the leaders at BOLD PAC, told Playbook. “It’s great that they’re doing this, because in order to win, we got to go where the voters are at.”
Republicans are also doubling down on their own push to keep Latino voters in their corner come Election Day, a Republican strategist, granted anonymity to discuss party strategy, told Playbook. “Do I think it changes anything?” they said of Democrats’ social media approach, “no, absolutely not.”
Just one day into early voting, there’s early signs that Democrats’ activation strategy may be paying off: the early vote among Latinos yesterday was 8 points higher than the first day of early voting in the last election cycle, BOLD PAC told Playbook. That’s just in Texas’ 29th District, where the PAC held its kickoff event and where Espina has been flooding the zone with early-voting posts.
“I think you’re going to see record numbers,” Rep. Sylvia Garcia, who represents and is running for reelection in the redrawn 29th District, told Playbook. “I know that it’s going to make a difference in my race.”
AND IN SOUTH TEXAS: POLITICO’s Andrew Howard has a must-read on Tejano star Bobby Pulido, who was a top recruit for Democrats this cycle in Texas’ 15th District but is staring down a messy primary battle against ER doctor Ada Cuellar that has gotten increasingly personal. “We’re actually vetting the candidate,” Cuellar told Andrew. “The DCCC clearly didn’t vet him at all.” Pulido’s campaign, meanwhile, says it’s keeping the powder dry. “It’s become personal one way only,” Pulido said. “I haven’t responded. We’ve been really focused on talking to voters.”











