Top Latino group names new president and CEO.
Latino Victory, a top Hispanic political organization, named a board member as its new president and CEO on Wednesday.
The group pegged Nathalie Rayes to take the top spot as Latino Victory expands its political footprint in the 2020 campaign.
Rayes comes from Grupo Salinas, a $6 billion Mexican conglomerate, where she served as vice president for public affairs.
She previously served as chief of staff to Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn (D) and a State Department fellow at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.
“I am honored to welcome a formidable leader like Nathalie Rayes to helm the Latino Victory team,” said Luis A. Miranda, chairman of the Latino Victory board.
“Throughout her career, Nathalie has worked tirelessly to empower the Latino community and help foster social change for the betterment of our people and our country. She will bring an unparalleled vision and experience that will move Latino Victory into its next phase of building Latino political power,” added Miranda.
Latino Victory has grown to become one of the major progressive Hispanic political advocacy organizations, endorsing and supporting candidates at the state, local and federal level.
“When we created Latino Victory just six years ago, we were looking forward to the future of our beloved country and the need to support new generations of American political leaders who share our culture, understand our issues and lead with our values,” said Eva Longoria and Henry R. Muñoz III, Latino Victory Project co-founders. “Success has come quickly but there is still much to be done. We are proud of the more than 100 elected Latino leaders serving in every level of government.”
Rayes will serve as a permanent replacement for Cristobal Alex, who stepped down as president of Latino Victory last year to head former Vice President Joe Biden‘s Latino outreach.
Executive Director Mayra Macías, who has held the post since August, will remain in place.
“At Latino Victory, we know that our work of turning Latinos out to vote is more critical than ever before,” said Macías.
Latino Victory in February endorsed Biden, becoming the first major Hispanic political organization to do so.
Latino Victory, which includes a political advocacy group and a super PAC, has been active in the early stages of the presidential campaign, launching “Trump Wins We Lose” last year.
“The path to the White House runs through the Latino vote and we could not be more excited to have Nathalie join the Latino Victory team in leading this fight. The experience and passion she brings are what we need to take our work to build Latino political power to the next level,” said Macías.
“Latinos con Biden” is a coordinated effort with the Democratic National Committee and the Biden campaign, meaning it will be federally limited in how much it can spend, but will allow Latino Victory to play a key role in molding Biden’s outreach to Latino voters.
“I could no longer sit on the sidelines. I have a moral obligation to ensure that everyone is engaged and active in the political process in this high-stakes election,” said Rayes in a statment.
“We will double down and ramp up our efforts. It is up to us to guarantee that Latinos are a pivotal and meaningful part of our success in 2020. I am proud to join Latino Victory to continue to build the bench of Latino leaders and to ensure we are part of the decision making in our country,” she added.
BY RAFAEL BERNAL – 05/06/20 10:14 AM EDT
