Rep. Ruben Gallego, chairman of the Bold PAC, the campaign arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, took to Twitter on Monday to blast “white rich progressives” for using the term “Latinx” to court Hispanic voters after a poll showed the use of the term might be doing Democrats more harm than good.
To be clear my office is not allowed to use “Latinx” in official communications.
When Latino politicos use the term it is largely to appease white rich progressives who think that is the term we use. It is a vicious circle of confirmation bias. https://t.co/kMty6q7UQn— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) December 6, 2021
“To be clear my office is not allowed to use ‘Latinx’ in official communications,” Gallego tweeted.
VERMONT LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR SEEKS TO BECOME STATE’S FIRST WOMAN IN CONGRESS
“When Latino politicos use the term it is largely to appease white rich progressives who think that is the term we use,” he added. “It is a vicious circle of confirmation bias.”
A survey from Bendixen & Amandi International, a top Democratic firm specializing in Latino outreach, found that the use of the term “Latinx” is counterproductive in efforts to reach these voters, with a mere 2% using the term to describe themselves. Meanwhile, 40% of respondents said the term offends them, with 30% adding they would be less likely to support politicians or groups using the term.
The term “Latinx” gained popularity among some liberal activists and academics in an effort to use a gender-neutral term to reach Latino voters. Some of these activists also reject the term “Hispanic” because of Spain’s colonization of Latin America.
But pollster Fernand Amandi said the survey suggests that the use of the term “Latinx” is “a violation of the political Hippocratic Oath, which is to first do no electoral harm.”
The use of Latinx, a term that didn’t exit until recently but has been embraced by @TheDemocrats to describe Hispanics + Latinos, may be doing more harm than good to Dem chances of winning, according to our new poll as @MarcACaputo describes in @politico.??https://t.co/Ekny4gd3vB
— Fernand Amandi (@AmandiOnAir) December 6, 2021
The new survey does not appear to be an outlier: An August poll by the Pew Research Center found that just 3% of Latino adults use the term “Latinx,” although it also found that Hispanic women ages 18 to 29 were more likely to use it, at 14%. But just 1% of Hispanic men in the same age group said they use the term “Latinx.”
Gallego has criticized some in his party for using the term before, tweeting last year that those looking to gain ground with these voters should “first start by not using the term Latinx.”
First start by not using the term Latinx. Second we have to be in front of them year round not just election years. That is what we did in AZ. https://t.co/ZxkWtuZkN5
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) November 4, 2020
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The debate over the term “Latinx” comes as Democrats try to win back ground with Hispanic voters. Although a decisive majority supported Joe Biden last year, it was smaller than what former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received as the Democratic nominee in 2016.
