Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020, in Nashua, N.H. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
On Thursday evening, the Latino Victory Fund (LVF) had announced that it was endorsing former president Joe Biden for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
#JustIn: @latinovictoryus endorses @JoeBiden pic.twitter.com/Bw3ow1aF8a
— Julio Ricardo Varela (@julito77) February 21, 2020
By Friday afternoon, a report published by Mediaite’s Adrian Carrasquillo said that members of LVF’s national committee raised serious transparency concerns about the nature of the endorsement and why it was happening two days before Saturday’s Nevada caucus, a contest with a significant Latino population where Biden is not seen as the front-runner.
“…since the group’s board of directors voted before Wednesday’s debate in Nevada to endorse him, some members of the group’s national committee —a group of Latino leaders from around the country— have been speaking privately and expressed frustration with the endorsement going to Biden, both because they feel the Latino community would be better served by other candidates, and politically, because they feel the endorsement may be going to a candidate on their way down in the race for the nomination, rather than on the way up,” Carrasquillo’s report said.
The story quoted several members of the national committee, including this quote from one member: “I don’t think Biden is the best choice in terms of his position and track record, there are other candidates that would be stronger on their impact for the Latino community, like [Elizabeth] Warren and [Bernie] Sanders, specifically. I’m looking for someone who is going to look to the future and speak to the future and that’s not necessarily Joe Biden.”
Another member questioned the transparency of the endorsement, noting “of the risk of endorsing Biden, should he stumble in Nevada.”
LVF did not comment about Carrasquillo’s story. Recent Friday afternoon tweets by LVF’s account just show news of the Biden endorsement.
Fact check: true.
We're on @TeamJoe!https://t.co/xJj71sv1ww
— Latino Victory (@latinovictoryus) February 21, 2020
LVF’s current board members include Luis A. Miranda Jr. (Board Chair), Kyle Ferari Muñoz, Stuart Appelbaum and Nathalie Rayes.
Mayra Macías is LVF’s current executive director, after former LVF founding president Alex Cristóbal left the organization to join the Biden campaign as a senior campaign advisor.
“One of the committee members said loyalty to Alex was one of the chief reasons Biden was able to score the coveted endorsement,” Carrasquillo wrote in his story.
Meanwhile, New York congressional candidate Melissa Mark Viverito, a former interim president of LVF, shared her endorsement for Elizabeth Warren on Friday morning, hours after the LVF Biden endorsement.
.@MMViverito who is running for Congress in a crowded field puts out video message in support of @ewarren as the candidate is experiencing a resurgence following a strong debate performance, which helped knock @MikeBloomberg out of the stratosphere.? pic.twitter.com/TVFmEBQymJ
— Zack Fink (@ZackFinkNews) February 21, 2020
LVF calls itself ” is a progressive political action committee working to grow Latino political power by increasing Latino representation at every level of government. From school boards, to the Senate, to the White House, Latino Victory identifies, recruits, and develops candidates for public office while building a permanent base of Latino donors to support them. LV partners with leading organizations to shape the public discourse to reflect the growing influence of the Latino community and build cross-constituency alliances that make us stronger.” It was co-founded by Democratic strategist Henry R. Muñoz III and actor/activist Eva Longoria.
The organizations’s full list national committee members are here.
Carrasquillo’s story comes a day after he filed an analysis for Latino Rebels about Biden’s chances for Saturday’s Nevada contest.
