California Latinos Delay Supporting Kamala Harris's US Senate Run As They Hope Antonio Villaraigosa Enters Race
Latino Democrats in California are withholding support for Democratic Attorney General Kamala Harris's run for U.S. Senate, according to Reuters.
Harris entered the race to replace Barbara Boxer in the U.S. Senate
Harris, who is of African-American and Asian decent, announced her bid two weeks ago. Latinos have yet to publicly announce their support for the attorney general.
It appears many are waiting to see if former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will enter the race.
Either candidate will make history: If elected, Harris would be the first African-American senator from California; Villaraigosa would be the state's first Mexican-American senator.
Other Democrats endorsing Harris include Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, the mayors of Oakland and San Francisco, and the Los Angeles County district attorney.
Latinos are bothered by the lack of representation from their own group and will hold out for Hispanic candidates to come forward.
"There's a little bit of backlash within the Latino community," said Fernando Guerra, who heads Loyola Marymount's Center for the Study of Los Angeles.
Villaraigosa and Latino Congress members Xavier Becerra and Loretta Sanchez are currently contemplating throwing their hat into the ring.
The Golden State is extremely diverse with about 7 percent of residents identifying as African-American alone, according to U.S. Census data, while Hispanics comprise nearly 40 percent of the population.
Black leaders are heavily involved in California politics as black leaders moved into mainstream state politics earlier than Latinos. The San Francisco area, for example, produced California's longest-serving assembly speaker, African-American Willie L. Brown Jr., who later served as San Francisco's mayor.
"I don't view it ethnically," said Los Angeles City Council President Herb J. Wesson Jr., a former assembly speaker who is an African-American and a Villaraigosa ally. Wesson endorsed Harris this week. "The race itself would be historic regardless of who won."
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