President Biden is on the verge of receiving an endorsement on Friday from members of Cesar Chavez's family. This endorsement, while mostly symbolic, is intended to send a message to independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is attempting to leverage his family's connections to the late union organizer and civil rights leader.
Fernando and Paul Chavez, the sons of the late co-founder of the United Farm Workers, will officially endorse the president on Friday, as confirmed by the Biden campaign to CBS News. The Chavez family already has a strong relationship with the campaign, with Julie Chavez Rodriguez, the granddaughter of Cesar Chavez, serving as the president's campaign manager.
"The bonds of affection and respect for a president who by his character and actions consistently reflects the genuine legacy of my father, Cesar Chavez," stated Paul Chavez.
"Today, my grandfather's bust sits in the Oval Office — a reminder that President Biden understands the power of organizing and working people and recognizes the impact of my grandfather's legacy to continue to mobilize our communities into action," Julie Chavez Rodriguez told CBS News. "In an election that will determine the fate of organized labor, our Latino community, and our democracy, I could not be more humbled to accept the support of my family as one of many that will power us to victory in November ¡Si se puede!."
An historic 36.2 million Latino voters are eligible to vote in this year's election, an increase of 6 million voters since 2020, according to Pew Research. Both Mr. Biden and former President Donald Trump have been courting the Hispanic vote in key battleground states like Nevada and Arizona. Recent polls show this crucial demographic may be more up for grabs than in recent presidential cycles. While Mr. Biden still garners majority support from Latino voters, his backing from this critical demographic has waned. According to a CBS News poll from late February, Mr. Biden's support among Hispanic voters has dropped by 12 points since 2020, from 65% to 53%.
Enter RFK Jr., who in his independent bid for the White House has been utilizing his uncle John F. Kennedy's famous "Viva Kennedy" mantel in recent weeks to appeal to Latinos. On Saturday, borrowing heavily from the 1960s slogan, Kennedy will campaign in Los Angeles at a "Viva Kennedy 2024" event designed to launch his campaign's outreach to Hispanic voters and to connect his insurgent White House bid to his father's historic ties to the farmworker movement that helped birth the modern-day Latino civil rights movement.
The bond between the elder Kennedy and the legendary leader of the United Farm Workers, Cesar Chavez, played a crucial role in mobilizing Latino support for Robert F. Kennedy during the 1968 Democratic presidential primary, a campaign tragically cut short by his assassination following his victory in the California primary.
This marks the second occasion in as many weeks that President Biden's reelection campaign has taken steps to counter Kennedy's campaign efforts. On St. Patrick's Day, the president hosted a private tour of the Oval Office and West Wing for members of the extended Kennedy family, including the candidate's siblings and cousins, before welcoming them and hundreds of others to a holiday reception. Several members of the Kennedy family shared photos alongside the president, signaling their support for Mr. Biden and the Democratic Party's nominee, in spite of their relative's campaign.
The president's personal connections to the Kennedy and Chavez families, as well as his admiration for their forefathers, are not only profound but also visibly honored within the White House, where busts of both Robert F. Kennedy and Cesar Chavez are prominently displayed in the Oval Office.
