Angie Nixon, a Florida Democratic candidate for a Senate seat, has two political stars coming to Kissimmee to campaign for her. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) will headline an event called “Boricuas for Angie” at Osceola Heritage Park.
Why Boricuas for Angie?
“Boricua,” based on the Taino name for what is now Puerto Rico, Boriken, is used to refer to Puerto Ricans. Nearly one third of the residents of Kissimmee are Puerto Rican. Angie, currently a Florida state representative, surprised many when she won the Florida Democratic primary. She is a member of the Working Families Party and the Democratic Socialists of America.
Reps Ocasio-Cortez and Velazquez, along with Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL), represent the progressive arm of the Democratic Party. Ocasio-Cortez, who is considering a run in the presidential race in 2028, has been campaigning for Democratic candidates in the midterm elections. She is up for re-election, but her seat is considered safe. Velazquez plans to retire at the end of this term. Both Congresswomen are considered political stars, especially among Puerto Ricans. Their influence could be significant.
Significant influence
Puerto Rican voters in the states have an outsize degree of influence in the upcoming midterm elections. The sheer number of Puerto Rican voters in many states accounts for much of the increase in influence. But Puerto Rican voters are especially numerous and important in the swing states that will determine the makeup of Congress next year.
A Univision poll in Florida, one of the battleground states, shows mixed results for Democratic and Republican candidates, but Republicans were favored in statewide and Latino responses.
Among Puerto Rican voters in particular, though, Democrats led 50% to Republicans’ 36% in the Senate contest and 54% to 36% for the House. Cuban voters still tend to skew Republican, but Latino voters as a whole disapprove strongly of President Trump, with only 27% saying he’s doing a good job.
Depending on voter turnout, Puerto Rican voters, especially those taking Trump’s advice to vote as though he were on the ballot, could send more Democrats to Congress in the midterms. The “Boricuas for Angie” event could energize those voters and get them to the polls.
