Bernie Sanders
Reuters

Bernie Sanders is aggressively pursuing Latino voters as his camp believes this could bring in the decisive votes needed ahead of the Democratic primaries.

Sanders is no stranger to Latinos, in fact, they call him "Tio Bernie" because they see the senator as an "uncle" or a "friend", the New York Times reported. The 78-year-old senator hails from Vermont but the Latino community believes he embodies their struggle and consistency in messages, which dates back to when the senator ran for presidency in 2015.

Early survey results show "Tio Bernie" has an edge over former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. The Public Policy Institute of California poll revealed that 39 percent of Latinos based in California is in favor of the former while only 21 percent supported the latter. The positive results do not seem to end in polls only as Sander's camp has also raised more campaign money from the Latino community compared to the amount raised by camps of Senator Elizabeth Warren and Biden group.

The purse of what is believed to be the largest minority voting group expands to schools. Team Sanders had stops in the Riverside City College, California State University-Bakersfield and Fresno City College for his college tour, as attempts to get young voters in these areas are intensified. The U.S. News said that more than 50 percent of the students enrolled in the said schools are Latino.

"There is no doubt, the Latinx community and young voters will deliver Bernie Sanders' victory in the California primary," state director of Sander's camp in California Rafael Návar confessed. He added that the community identified its struggles with Bernie's campaign promises. On the other hand, his rival, Joe Biden, is counting on the support of the African-American community.

For now, "Tio Bernie" and his promise of "Medicare for All" continues to resonate among the minorities and minimum wage earners, a claim which fellow aspirant Senator Warren also pledges to gain supporters. The offers of Democrat hopefuls are all eerily similar, with just a few distinctions between them. Per Vogue, healthcare, workers' rights and reintroduction of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are some common points, with the immigrants issue gaining a nationwide concern because it involves a lot of things concerning humanity.

The chance to tap into a community which has rich voter potential and to build a better relationship with those who supported him before is too much to pass up for the Democratic candidate. "We are seeing the Latino population growing very significantly. We're seeing young people getting involved in the political process in a very important way. The challenge that we face is that, historically, voter turnout in the Latino community is not very high. So we are doing everything we can in a variety of ways to organize," he added in an interview for Politico.

Three years ago, the results of the California primary showed then presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton receiving 53 percent of the votes while Bernie had 46 percent. It remains to be seen if the early positive signs could actually translate to real victory when the California primary takes place on March 3, 2020.