Campaign 2020

LOS ANGELES – Jorge Bravo paces back-and-forth outside of a polling place in South Gate, Calif., as his 18-year-old daughter Guadalupe casts her first ballot.

Guadalupe Bravo is not only a first-time voter, but a first-generation voter. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, she said she casts her ballot on behalf of herself, her family and her community. The LA neighborhood where Bravo lives is 95 percent Latinx.

“Sometimes our voices aren’t really heard so voting is a great way to voice out our opinions,” Bravo said.

 
In 2020, millennials and Generation Z will make up 37% of the electorate. Of the 73 million millennials in the United States today, 48 million are first generation, according to the Council for Opportunity in Education.

Bravo said she made the decision to cast a ballot without much convincing. The Bernie Sanders supporter said she did not learn to vote from her parents, like some of her peers. She relied on teachers and Google to decipher the logistics of voting.

“It’s kind of scary just because I don’t know what to expect,” Bravo said. “Actually before this I searched up do I need to take anything to vote. But I’m really excited to start now that I can.”

Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders has repeatedly said increasing voter turnout is paramount to taking back the White House. First-time voters, including first-generation voters, are a critical demographic in increasing Democratic voter turnout. Republicans, meanwhile, have been showing up in historic numbers for President Trump in the early state primaries.

Rock the Vote, a nonpartisan organization aimed at pushing people to the polls, said they reach first-generation voters via text and social media. They provide educational information to break down language barriers, for both first-generation voters and immigrants who are naturalized citizens.

“We are all about not only educating young voters,” said Rock the Vote Digital Director Teja Foster. “A lot of Americans are taught the voting process through generational repetitiveness or your parents taking you to the polls. First-generation voters don’t have that.”

Bravo said political conversations around the dinner table were not common in her house. Even so, she said some of her most fervent political beliefs developed because of her status as a first-generation American.

Beyond immigration reform, Bravo said she is an enthusiastic supporter of free four-year college, especially as she sees friends who are accepted into top-tier universities unable to pay for them.

“It’s been something that has been instilled in me for a very long time,” Bravo said. “You know, go to college so that you can pursue a good career, because we didn’t have that opportunity.”

Bravo’s friend Nisa Jones, who is excited to cast her first ballot in November, said protecting the planet is the most pressing issue. She also wants to see family separation stop, but emphasized environmental policy as her top priority.

“If we don’t have somewhere to live, then nobody’s going to be able to vote, regardless of immigration status,” Jones said.

Like Bravo, Jones said she learned about the political process at school. She said current events quizzes and AP Government have inspired her to keep up with political news.

Bravo’s father said he’s proud to see Guadalupe and her two older siblings taking advantage of the opportunity to vote.

“By voting, she’s giving the power to someone who we hope will work for everyone the same without considering their social class,” Jorge Bravo said.

The younger Bravo said she thinks about the fact that she will be able to take her children to the polls, and teach them about the voting process.

“It’s great because I didn’t have that opportunity but I will be able to help my children,” Bravo said.

As Bravo walked out of the polling place, flashing a thumbs up to onlookers and quickly putting on her “I voted” sticker, she offered a suggestion to make voting more accessible for first-generation voters.

“Some of the terminology was a little bit confusing so that kind of threw me off a little bit.”

Come November, Bravo said she’ll brush up on her voting vocabulary and return to the polls.

“I think it’s important for everybody to voice their opinions and to have a say in what goes on in our country,” said Bravo.

RICHMOND, Virginia.– Former Vice President Joe Biden swept Virginia on Tuesday, despite early polls showing Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg running neck-and-neck. Virginia was one of the 10 Super Tuesday states Biden carried, giving him the front-runner status over Sanders.

“I wasn’t expecting such a commanding win,” said 47-year-old voter Katherine Jordan. “He has the best chance of healing the divisions in the country and reinstating our standing in the world,” said Jordan.

Biden finished first in Virginia with more than 50% of the Democratic vote and capturing 49 delegates to the national nominating convention, followed by Sanders at 23% with 19 delegates. Bloomberg finished fourth in the state behind Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., receiving less than 10% of the vote and no delegates.

Exit polls Tuesday showed black voters accounted for the majority of Biden’s Virginia victory.

“The black community stands strong behind Biden and as history, statistics and results show black people, especially black women, are showing up at the polls more than any other community,” said Richmond City Democratic Committee Chair Jamie Nolan.

Sanders is struggling to secure support from black voters and appeal to moderates, which was particularly true in Virginia.

Jacqueline Morgan, who grew up in “red, red, red” Northern Virginia – which now is more blue, wasn’t surprised by Biden’s win. Just last year, the state’s legislature flipped blue for the first time in 25 years, but Morgan said the Democrats in Virginia are moderate.

A self-described pragmatic, Morgan finds Sanders Medicare for All plan unrealistic. She thinks Biden can generate change incrementally.

“For Virginia, it’s a great day today,” said Morgan.

A Richmond resident for 35 years, Rhonda Gilmer said young voters and an increasingly diverse state population has helped new, progressive ideas take hold on the state.

“Biden could take that information and use his experience as well as his connections to push that agenda better than Bernie–he’s done it before.”

Gilmer says she doesn’t see a substantial difference between Biden and Sanders, but she says Biden can better understand the struggles of the working class.

“He [Biden] can go pound to pound with Trump and that’s what made my decision,” said Gilmer. “Biden’s going to win.”

Despite devoting far more resources to Virginia than any other candidate, Bloomberg failed to meet the threshold of getting 15 percent of the vote to be awarded delegates.

The billionaire mayor has seven field offices and 80 staffers and put $18 million of advertising into the state. He also made seven visits to Virginia, including a trip to McLean on Saturday.

Bloomberg also has ties to the state. He spent nearly $2.5 million in Virginia’s last election cycle to help the legislature flip blue. In 2013, Bloomberg’s political action committee also spent $1.7 million in ads to elect former Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

But McAuliffe endorsed Biden on Saturday, after the former vice president’s landslide win in South Carolina–a win that triggered a number of endorsements from leading Democrats around the country and further damaged Sanders’ chances at maintaining his front-runner status.

Two significant endorsements came from former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who suspended their presidential campaigns on Sunday and Monday, respectively. Their endorsements invite moderate voters to consolidate support around Biden.

John Murray said he would have voted for Buttigieg to support the South Bend mayor’s historic run as the first openly gay presidential candidate but voted for Biden after Buttigieg’s endorsement.

“It showed we really needed somebody with experience and good judgement–someone who can really bring the whole country together,” said Murray.