LULAC Comments on the Historical Significance of Latino Presidential Candidates

April 13, 2015

Washington, D.C. - Today, Brent Wilkes, LULAC National Executive Director, issued the following statement regarding the announcement made by Senator Rubio that he was running for President of the United States.

"In 2008, Governor Bill Richardson announced his intention to run for President of the United States, marking the first time our nation had a Latino candidate. In 2015, we have two Latino candidates announcing their intention to run for office with the announcement of Senator Ted Cruz earlier this month and Senator Marco Rubio today.

It is important that we acknowledge this remarkable development for what it represents - Latinos have gained a broad base of support among various demographics sufficient to run for our nation's highest office. But, even with such broad base support, these candidates will only prevail if they win a large portion of the Latino vote.

To that end, both candidates tried to appeal to Latinos in their announcement speeches by emphasizing their personal story and realization of the American dream. However, personal stories alone will not win the Latino vote. Instead, both should know that they need to develop specific policy positions that address the needs of the Latino community."

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The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 1,000 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit www.LULAC.org.