• Click here to watch a video of the press conference

• Click here to watch the UnidosUS Action Fund digital ad endorsing Biden

 

PHOENIX- As a sign of Arizona’s critical swing-state status in the 2024 general election, the president of the UnidosUS Action Fund, Janet Murguía, on Tuesday announced the organization's endorsement of President Biden and Vice President Harris, as well as U.S. Senate candidate Ruben Gallego and Democratic congressional contenders Raquel Terán and Kirsten Engel. 

 

“There’s a lot at stake in 2024 for our country and our democracy, and the stakes are especially high for the nation’s nearly 64 million Latinos. UnidosUS Action Fund today is proud to endorse President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for re-election,” Murguía said at a morning press conference in Phoenix. “They are leaders with the vision, character, and experience to bring people together, meet our challenges, and lead us into the future. 

 

“We’ve already seen what the Biden-Harris Administration has accomplished for the Latino community and all Americans, helping to successfully navigate a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, creating millions of new jobs, and promoting access to health care and quality education for all. We know our country will continue to be on this path to progress if we choose Biden/Harris in November,” said Murguía. 

 

“We are also proud to announce that we are endorsing Congressman Ruben Gallego for U.S. Senate and former State Senators Raquel Teran and Kirsten Engel for U.S. Congress. These candidates are proven leaders who have dedicated much of their lives to helping protect the rights of and opening the door to opportunity for Arizonans, including the more than two million Hispanics who call the state home. We need leaders who will and are willing to work across the aisle to get things done. These are the kind of leaders we desperately need in Congress right now.”

 

An estimated 17.5 million Latinos will vote nationwide in the November general election, according to the National Association of Elected Leaders (NALEO) Educational Fund. In Arizona, NALEO predicts about 855,000 (1 in 4) Arizona voters in the fall election will be Latino. This is in a state where Biden won in 2020 by fewer than 11,000 votes.

 

UnidosUS Action Fund Executive Director Rafael Collazo said, “"We are proud to endorse President Biden and recognize his commitment to advancing the well-being of our communities through major legislative achievements. The President’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, his decision to expand access to the Affordable Care Act for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, and his administration’s historic efforts to begin lowering the cost of prescription drugs are policies that speak to his dedication to sustain and elevate the livelihood of Latino communities nationwide. 

 

“More importantly, these actions are a testament to a presidency attuned to the challenges we face and the need for bold solutions that provide a brighter, more inclusive future for all."

 

Arizona 2024 - What’s at Stake

 

Gallego and Teran are two of dozens of Latino elected officials in Arizona who’ve risen to prominence in recent years. An Iraq War veteran and former member of the Arizona Legislature, Congressman Gallego is serving his fourth term representing District 3 in the House. Teran, a long-time grassroots activist, resigned her seat in the Arizona Senate to run for Congress in District 3. Engel is making her second run for election in Congressional District 6, which is about 25 percent Hispanic and located along the Arizona-Mexico border.

 

The outcome of these races will help determine control of the House and Senate in Congress in the fall election.

 

UnidosUS Action Fund Arizona State Director Enrique Davis Mazlum added that Tuesday’s endorsements are only part of the efforts the organization has planned for Arizona ahead of the November election, which will include collecting signatures, canvassing, and media buys, aimed especially at turning out so called low propensity voters in the state’s major urban areas and in communities along the U.S. Mexico border.

 

He said the group is backing two proposed ballot measures, the Arizona Minimum Wage Increase Initiative and the Arizona Right to Abortion Initiative. The UnidosUS Action Fund will also oppose a proposed Republican-backed ballot initiative in Arizona known as the “Secure the Border Act” — modeled after House Concurrent Resolution 2060 (HCR 2060), a package of extreme anti-immigrant measures vetoed earlier this year by Governor Katie Hobbs. 

 

“This ballot measure would take us backward not forward,” said Davis Mazlum. “If approved, it opens the door to discrimination, including racial profiling for immigrant and Latino Arizonans, in places where our community should feel safe, like schools, churches and hospitals.”

 

About UnidosUS Action Fund

The UnidosUS Action Fund (UnidosUS AF) is a 501(c4) that serves to promote the civil rights and interests of the Latino community in the United States. Its mission is to support legislative and electoral efforts that align with its sister organization, UnidosUS, especially those aimed at enhancing the social, economic, and political well-being of Latinos. Through various activities, including lobbying for policies that benefit Latinos, supporting Latino candidates for political office, and mobilizing voters on issues critical to their communities, such as immigration reform, education, and healthcare.

 

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