Democratic candidate Clinton hires Latino voter outreach deputy

[June 06, 2016]  By Luciana Lopez
 
 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Democrat Hillary Clinton has hired the president of the Latino Victory Project to help mobilize key voting communities as she looks ahead to the November general election for the White House, according to an aide.

Cristobal Alex will be the campaign's new deputy director of voter outreach and mobilization, starting later this month, the aide said.

Minority voters have been major blocs for Clinton as she's notched a commanding lead over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, her rival for the Democratic nomination, and could prove a crucial factor in the November general election.

Among those minority voters are Latinos, a fast-growing group that, according to many activists, has seen a spike in voter registration in recent months.

Many activists point squarely to presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump as the spur for those voter registrations, as he has called Mexican immigrants rapists and drug dealers and said a federal judge could not do his job properly because of his Mexican heritage.

In contrast, both Clinton and Sanders have actively courted Latino voters, releasing ads in Spanish and promising to hire Latinos to key cabinet positions.

While the Democratic convention is not until July, Clinton has a commanding lead in pledged delegates. She added to that lead on Sunday, when she was projected the winner of the day's Puerto Rico primary.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign stop in Sylmar, California, United States June 4, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Primaries on Tuesday include delegate-rich California, which also boasts a diverse populating including Latinos, African Americans and Asian Americans.

But Latino activists have warned Democrats that merely bashing Trump is not enough to win their votes, pressing for engagement on issues ranging from immigration to jobs to education.

The non-partisan Latino Victory Project works to build political power among Latino communities.

(Reporting by Luciana Lopez; Editing by Robert Birsel)

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