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The Power And Diversity Of Latino Voters : It's Been a Minute Latinos are the second largest group of eligible voters by race or ethnicity in the United States, but they continue to be misunderstood and underappreciated by political campaigns of all parties. Sam talks to Lisa García Bedolla, a scholar of Latino politics, about how the word "Latino" encompasses diverse communities of all political stripes and life experiences, and he checks in with the former mayor of a small town in Texas who's been thinking of Latino voter outreach for a long time.

You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at samsanders@npr.org.

It's Been a Minute

'They've Dismissed Us': How Latino Voter Outreach Still Falls Short

'They've Dismissed Us': How Latino Voter Outreach Still Falls Short

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Children listen as Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks as he visits East Las Vegas Community Center, Friday, Oct. 9, 2020, in Las Vegas. Carolyn Kaster/AP hide caption

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Carolyn Kaster/AP

Children listen as Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks as he visits East Las Vegas Community Center, Friday, Oct. 9, 2020, in Las Vegas.

Carolyn Kaster/AP

Latinos are the second largest group of eligible voters by race or ethnicity in the United States, but they continue to be misunderstood and underappreciated by political campaigns of all parties.

Sam talks to scholar Lisa García Bedolla, professor at UC Berkeley and author of the book Latino Politics, about how the word "Latino" encompasses diverse communities of all political stripes and all life experiences and what effective—and respectful—outreach to Latino voters would look like.

Then, Sam chats with Victor Leal, a business owner and former mayor of Muleshoe, Texas, who's been thinking about Latino voter outreach for a long time.

This episode was produced by Andrea Gutierrez with help from Star McCown. It was edited by Jordana Hochman. You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at samsanders@npr.org.