Democrats Recruit Popular Content Creators to Engage Latino Voters

The party's new strategy aims to build a network of online influencers to boost turnout in key races.

Published on Feb. 24, 2026

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The Democratic Party is launching a new strategy to engage Latino voters by recruiting popular online content creators, including TikTok star Carlos Eduardo Espina, to help spread the party's messaging. The initiative, called 'RUIDO' (Spanish for 'noise'), is being rolled out in Houston ahead of the Texas primary elections, with plans to potentially expand it to other competitive races where Latino voters could be decisive.

Why it matters

The strategy is a response to the Republican Party's success in reaching Latino voters through social media influencers and non-traditional channels in the 2024 election. Democrats hope that by partnering with local online personalities, they can more effectively connect with Latino communities and boost turnout.

The details

The program, developed by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' political arm, provides stipends to a network of 10 Houston-area influencers to support their travel and content creation as they work with political campaigns. The influencers range from political commentators to creators focused on food, travel, and local attractions, with online followings from a few thousand to around 100,000 people.

  • The 'RUIDO' program was launched ahead of the start of early voting for Texas' statewide primary on March 3, 2026.
  • The Congressional Hispanic Caucus PAC plans to evaluate expanding the influencer strategy to other competitive primary and general election races in the future.

The players

Carlos Eduardo Espina

A progressive political influencer with over 14 million followers on TikTok, who has promoted Democratic candidates and policies in the past.

Rep. Linda Sanchez

A California Democrat and chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' political action committee, which developed the 'RUIDO' program.

Carlos Castillo

One of the Houston-area influencers recruited to the 'RUIDO' network, who creates content on a variety of topics including politics.

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What they’re saying

“I do think there's a lot of failures in the past Democratic Party, but I think initiatives like this one are pretty cool.”

— Carlos Eduardo Espina

“The Trump campaign reached out to those nontraditional voices to amplify their message. We didn't anticipate that was going to be a way by which politics was disseminated. We've seen the contrary, that we do need to be in those spaces, as well.”

— Rep. Linda Sanchez, Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' political action committee

“People are going to act more when they hear from a family member, when they hear from a friend. Just talking to people in an organic way, whether it's through get-ready-with-me videos and just slightly mentioning, 'Oh, also, by the way, the primaries are coming up in our state.'”

— Carlos Castillo, Houston-area influencer

What’s next

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus PAC plans to evaluate expanding the 'RUIDO' influencer strategy to other competitive primary and general election races in the future, though they have not yet decided on specific locations.

The takeaway

The Democratic Party's new strategy of partnering with popular online content creators reflects a recognition that traditional campaign methods are not enough to effectively engage Latino voters, who have increasingly gravitated towards the Republican Party in recent elections. By tapping into the influence of local social media personalities, Democrats hope to better connect with these communities and boost turnout in key races.