President and CEO of prominent voting rights organization Voto Latino Maria Teresa Kumar is speaking out on why her organization launched a six-figure campaign to oust Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s (D-Ariz.) in 2024 as a result of her stance on voting rights.
Kumar said on HillTV’s “Rising” that Voto Latino’s campaign against Sinema has its roots in a state bill that preceded the national voting rights legislation.
Kumar said the bill that was passed in Arizona’s state legislature would allow a legislator to overturn a fair, certified election and would also disproportionately impact Arizona’s Latino population, which makes up about 32 percent of the state.
“What we’re asking from her was very clear,” Kumar said. “Let’s make sure that every single person has equal access to the voting booth. Disproportionately this legislation was going to impact that 32 percent of individuals.”
The voting rights organization CEO also argued that Sinema is not in the same situation as her colleague Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) when it comes to her next election, claiming that Manchin has “a very different constituency in West Virginia.”
“She has a very difficult pathway. Even if she were to go independent, she’s going to have a hard time bringing in the Democratic base, which is not true for Manchin,” Kumar said.
As for the likelihood of Sinema switching parties or becoming an independent before she’s up for reelection in 2024, Kumar acknowledged that it’s a possibility but explained that she would still have a difficult pathway due to changing demographics, especially given the increase in young Latino voters.
“Between the last election and the time she’s up for reelection, there’s going to be 162,000 more young Latinos eligible to vote because they’ve aged in,” Kumar said. The demographics of Arizona are not the same demographics of John McCain, and that is because of the rise of young Latinos coming of age in that state.”
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