House Democrats Demand More Support for Latino Candidates in 2026

The 2025 elections showed that Latino voters, who swung right in 2024, aren’t necessarily sticking with Republicans. But some lawmakers are worried the Democratic Party won’t properly invest in recruiting more Latino candidates, who they argue are crucial to boosting the party’s standing with the critical voting bloc.

Several Latino Democrats are keeping a particular eye on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, House Democrats’ official campaign arm. The DCCC has been criticized throughout the years over its lack of engagement with Latino voters and candidates.

Sen. Ruben Gallego, who served as chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ campaign arm, BOLD PAC, when he was in the House, told NOTUS he regularly encountered resistance to his suggestions that they needed to recruit more Latinos.

“The DCCC’S inclination was always to go for a safe moderate, white suburban mom, or something of that nature, and not …a Latino candidate, and I thought that was just not smart politics or recruitment.”

Gallego also added that the issue expanded beyond just Latinos, saying that in a past election cycle, he tried to recruit a Native American candidate, and “the DCCC then told me that they didn’t believe that a Navajo marine could turn out the vote better than a non-Navajo candidate, and I suggested that if they ever said that publicly, they would probably be laughed at.”

“It happens a lot,” Gallego continued.

Rep. Linda Sánchez, the current chair of BOLD PAC, told NOTUS that she had “been arguing for a long time now that the establishment really needs to take a look at investing in Hispanic candidates in seats that have sizable Hispanic populations.”

“We have had ongoing conversations with DCCC and [Chair] Suzan DelBene, and I have made my point to her several times, so let’s see if they take that to heart or not,” Sánchez continued.

When asked if she thought her conversations with DCCC had been fruitful, Sánchez responded, “Not particularly.”

In 2024, 48% of Latinos voted for Trump, the most a Republican candidate has ever gotten. But in 2025, Latinos played a key role in getting Democrats elected in Virginia and New Jersey. To maintain that bloc, Hispanic Democrats have been arguing, the party must back Hispanic candidates.

Sánchez wrote a Spanish op-ed in October arguing that, “Too often, Latino leaders are told to wait their turn, that their life experiences are not a good fit or that there’s another person ‘better prepared’ to run. Even in districts driven by the Latino vote, we see how decisions are made far from the communities most impacted.”

“Winning the Latino vote is not a mystery. It starts by investing in our candidates,” Sánchez continued. “If we want to win Latino voters, we cannot start by excluding the leaders our community trusts.”

Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, told NOTUS, “We want to make sure that government reflects the composition of the nation, and that warrants an increase in our presentation here. As they say in New York, if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu for lunch. And so we don’t want to be on the menu.”

He added that he wants to see “more resources deployed to districts that will yield a greater representation of Latinos in Congress.”

BOLD PAC has so far endorsed eight candidates in different House Democratic primaries. The group is meeting regularly with DCCC to encourage adding BOLD PAC’s candidates to the coveted “Red to Blue” program, which focuses on battleground districts, two sources familiar with the matter told NOTUS. While DCCC does not normally interfere in Democratic primaries, it has in the past, and in early November, DelBene and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries did not rule out getting involved in battleground district primaries.

One of those sources said that while DCCC seems open to having these conversations, it still does not appear to be prioritizing BOLD PAC’s candidates. The source added there’s concern that in races where a Hispanic candidate is one of the top two in the race, DCCC would lean toward the other option.

As an example, the source told NOTUS, DCCC could back Colorado state Rep. Shannon Bird instead of BOLD PAC’s pick, state Rep. Manny Rutinel, in the primary for Colorado’s 8th District. The seat is currently held by GOP Rep. Gabe Evans, and the district has a large Latino population. (A different source familiar with the race told NOTUS that DCCC is instead expected to let the primary play out instead of getting involved.)

When asked if she was considering adding BOLD PAC’s endorsed candidates to DCCC’s Red to Blue program, DelBene was noncommittal.

“In some districts, we have primaries. Sometimes we have multiple good candidates running against each other,” she told NOTUS.

In response to a list of questions for this story, DCCC spokesperson Bridget Gonzalez said in a statement to NOTUS, “We recognize what an imperative it is to build political power in Hispanic and Latino communities — from recruiting and investing in Latino candidates, to building relationships on the ground and engaging voters directly, we are committed to this fight.”

Some House Democrats also said they want to see more Latino voter outreach efforts. Last cycle, the DCCC had a $35 million investment to engage with voters of color. This time around, “we want that number to be larger,” Sánchez told NOTUS in late November.

Days after Sánchez’s comments to NOTUS, the DCCC announced its “Our Power, Our Country,” an eight-figure campaign focused on reaching voters of color and rural voters through digital ads, paid media and organizing with grassroots leaders, per a press release. DCCC said this is “the earliest-ever investment that House Democrats have made” to persuade these coalitions.

Rep. Rob Menendez, a member of DCCC’s 2026 leadership team, said that the program was a direct result of years of criticism from Hispanic members around how House Democrats’ political operation had prioritized candidates.

“The Democratic Caucus, on the political side, needs to have consistent engagement with the CHC members,” Menendez said. “What we have to continue to make sure is that it’s not just that we’re having those conversations, but we’re implementing a lot of the best practices that we’ve seen CHC members use.”

“They know we have a pulse on the community, that the things that we’ve been saying for years have borne out to be true: You can’t just show up the last two weeks, you need to invest, you need to use folks who understand the community, to have consultants and whatnot who are working with us, who are from the community and have that pulse, and they’re doing that,” Menendez continued. “We just need to make sure that we continue to roll in the same direction.”

Sánchez’s office said in a statement that the “DCCC is recognizing what we’ve long known — Latino voters are a core part of the Democratic coalition,” adding that she was “encouraged by this step forward.”

When NOTUS later caught up with Sánchez, she clarified that the voter outreach effort did not address her demands that DCCC should still back Latino candidates, saying they’re two distinct issues.

“We keep pushing for that,” Sánchez added. “We want to see more of an investment earlier on Hispanic candidates.”

An early start in reaching out to voters, she said, is “a good start, but obviously we are always going to push them to do more.”

Other House members were also cautious.

“Usually, you have to pull teeth to get them to invest early,” said Rep. Jimmy Gomez, a BOLD PAC board member. “Starting off with that, that’s a good investment. It’s probably going to need more.”

Rep. Vicente Gonzalez said he hoped the investment would reach South Texas, arguing that DCCC needs to “make heavy investments in Latino districts like mine, and like Henry’s [Henry Cuellar’s], and like in Bobby Pulido’s race as well.” (Pulido is challenging Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz in Texas’ 15th District.)

“We squandered tens of millions of dollars last cycle at trying to gain seats that were unwinnable, and we almost lost seats that we already were holding, and that was a real shame,” Gonzalez continued.

Rep. Delia Ramirez, also a member of BOLD PAC’s board, was more critical.

“Is it about investing on the ground with the partners that have the closest relationship with the Latino community? Or is it some generic-ass, like, digital thing or mailer that doesn’t connect with people?” she told NOTUS.

“When we mean, ‘Listen to Latino voters,’ we don’t mean put in some generic-ass ad and then expect them to all come our way,” Ramirez continued. “In this moment, we are being targeted for our mere physical existence, and the Democratic Party has to do a better job in demonstrating that they are fighting like hell to defend us, because we are part of the party.”

Similar to Sánchez, Ramirez said voter outreach efforts do not calm her concerns around focusing on candidates.

“And what is the level of investment that the DCCC is spending on Latino candidates?” she added. “It’s really important for us to continue to push the DCCC to be better.”