Though Sen. Bernie Sanders is no longer in the race for the presidency, some of his former staffers continue to work, but this time in support of Joe Biden. That includes Sanders' former senior advisor Chuck Rocha, who is trying to help Democrats secure votes in the Latinx community.
Rocha said that while he supports Sanders' vision for the United States, the most important thing is ensuring a Democrat wins the November election.
"Once we get rid of [Trump] and Joe Biden is the president, we can have a debate about the issues, we can have a debate about how progressive this stance is, and we can hold people accountable," Rocha told Cheddar.
In his newly-released book titled, Tio Bernie, Rocha details his experiences with the 2016 and 2020 Sanders for President campaigns, where his priorities were maximizing Sanders' presence in the Latinx community. While the Biden-Harris ticket is seeing a surge in support from the Latinx community, according to a recent survey, Rocha said the campaign could be doing more to secure votes.
"Start early. Treat us like a persuadable voter. Use culturally competent consultants. Go into our communities and have a conversation with us where we're at. Tell us what you're going to do for us and guess what? We'll show up for you," he explained.
Now that Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has officially been named as the vice presidential nominee, Rocha said the Biden campaign should emphasize her background to appeal to Latinx voters.
"Kamala, who is the daughter of immigrants, is a great messenger to go into a community and say 'I understand the immigrant experience and I won't forget that immigrant experience when I go to the White House,'" Rocha said.
According to Rocha, he used similar methods to "garner 70 percent of the Latino vote in Nevada," highlighting Sanders' upbringing by an immigrant father as a relatable story.
When it comes to convincing the nearly 30 percent of Latino voters that supported President Donald Trump in 2016 to support a 2020 Biden-Harris ticket, Rocha said Trump's record of attacks against the community during his first term is enough to drive them away.
Still, Rocha describes his commitment to getting Biden elected president as relentless.
"I've spent more money talking to Latino voters and Spanish media and digital than Joe Biden's campaign. That's how committed the Bernie Sanders wing of the party is to get rid of Donald Trump," he noted.
