Harris strives to win over Latino voters to clinch swing states

The abrupt substitution of Kamala Harris for Joe Biden as the Democratic party's presidential nominee has energised two of the party's bedrock bases of support-pro-choice women and African Americans along with millions of young voters who felt dismay at the Hobson's choice posed by two old white guys in the presidential contest.

- Joseph Contreras

But it remains unclear whether the country's estimated 36 million Latino voters will give Harris a big boost in her bid to defeat Donald Trump. While a slew of prominent Latino politicians and trade unionists have endorsed her since Biden's withdrawal from the race on 21 July, Latinos are not yet digging deep into their pockets to support Harris.

Two Zoom fundraising calls with black women and men held on consecutive nights right after Biden bowed out brought in a total of $2.8m (£2.4m). Similar Zoom calls with Latinas and Latinos for Kamala on 24 and 31 July, respectively, posted a combined net haul of $188,000.

Historically, Latinos, who are projected to represent nearly 15% of eligible voters nationwide by November, have ranked among the Democratic party's most reliable sources of votes, in about the same league as black and Jewish voters.

However, the party's once commanding advantage has been shrinking. Hillary Clinton trounced Trump among Latinos nationwide in 2016 by a margin of 81% to 16%.