She just launched the Latino Victory Project, but Eva Longoria says despite becoming more and more politically active, she has no plans to run for office.
Asked about a possible political run by The Hill at a launch event for the new organization, she replied, “God, no. If you think Hollywood’s ugly,” before trailing off.
The former “Desperate Housewives” star, a longtime President Obama supporter who served as co-chairwoman of his 2012 inaugural committee, says she’s splitting her time between entertainment and political efforts, and not leaving Hollywood behind.
“I produce a lot of television now and I’ve been working a lot. I’ve just been balancing it all and being very specific and targeted with my time and energy in projects I really believe in politically,” she said.
Longoria, a co-founder of the Latino Victory Project along with Henry Munoz, the finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee, detailed the mission of the organization, which is described as non-partisan, at the media briefing event at the National Press Club on Monday. Its founders say the organization is driven by a two-part goal: electing Latinos to government positions and mobilizing the Latino community behind those candidates.
“We will not stop until we reach the one office we have not yet achieved: the Oval Office,” Munoz said.
An immediate objective of Victory Project is an initiative called “The Firsts,” which will identify 100,000 “firsts” — the first members of Latino families to achieve educational and professional success — to build a pipeline of donors to fund the movement and vote for Latino candidates.
“It is important to me that the ballots reflect the landscape of America,” Longoria said in her opening address.
The organization also announced the establishment of a PAC to support Latino candidates and the slate, all Democrats, they will be supporting in upcoming elections. One of the endorsed candidates is Amanda Renteria, who is in a contested primary, seeking to defeat Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) in the fall.
Longoria said the Fund is “super focused on identifying future Latino leaders and mobilizing support behind them and shaping public policy.”