Sunday, December 22, 2024

Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-Calif) is Expanding the Latino Presence within the Democratic Party as He Continues to Exceed Fundraising Expectations for Candidates

In 2016, six additional Latinos joined the U.S. House, and the U.S. Senate welcomed its first Latina elected to the U.S. Senate. All were backed by the Hispanic Caucus’ political action committee – BOLD PAC.

During his candidacy for chairman of BOLD PAC, Rep. Tony Cárdenas promised to double, or even triple the $1 million in funds that it had. “People laughed. They voted for me anyway and said ‘You want to try it, do it. Go for it, dude,'” Cárdenas said.

Rep. Tony Cárdenas ended up raising $6 million by 2016, and BOLD PAC is now on course to raise $10 million for the caucus to help elect candidates. Cárdenas is one of three Latinos in leadership positions to steer the Democratic Party’s 2018 election races. In addition to him, Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee and Ben Ray Luján, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, are also hard at work boosting Latino Representation as the Party gears up for 2018.

“Should Democrats take back the House, I think it’s going to have Tony’s fingerprints all over it,” said Albert Morales, senior political director of Latino Decisions polling firm and the former Hispanic engagement director of the Democratic National Committee.

Cárdenas who began to leave a mark on the political landscape during his time as a California State Assembly Member is now passionately working to increase the money BOLD PAC can contribute to candidates. His new ambition: get 50 Latinos in Congress by the time he hits his 10-year anniversary on Capitol Hill, which would be in 2023 granted he continues to be re-elected.

 

NBC News