GRANGER, Texas — On Friday afternoon, both Democrats and Republicans held events to support former Vice President Joe Biden's and President Donald Trump's bids for the presidency in the 2020 election.
The event for Biden's campaign did not feature the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee himself, but other Democrat politicians from East Texas: Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez and host Rep. Victoria Neave (D-Dallas).
The "Texas Todos con Biden Charla" focused on a variety of topics, from the COVID-19 pandemic to bringing unity to the U.S. population amid nationwide protests against police brutality. Ultimately, the goal of the virtual event was to call on Latino voters to support Biden.
Canales referenced her own childhood, saying if somebody was Latino, you could assume they supported the Democrat Party. Now, Canales said, it's more of a toss-up than an assumption.
"We have been consistent in our struggle," Canales said of working-class Latinos. "I'm sorry to say that our children are still battling the same fights our grandparents thought they had eradicated."
Discussing more recent history, Mendez echoed Canales's sentiment but added Biden is the candidate for everyone.
"We need more kindness, humility and empathy in the United States," Mendez said. "We don't need or want any more divisiveness, racism, systemic inequalities in our housing. We need to create wealth and we need to create opportunity not only for Latinos, but for all people of color."
In an event held by supporters of the Trump campaign in Granger, speakers focused on more current events: the Black Lives Matter protests. The event called for people to defend the police rather than defund the police. Chairman of the Texas Republican Party Allen West said police are the ones making sacrifices every day.
"We want to continue to show support for them and let them know how much we care for them and how much we love them because they're putting out that sacrifice daily," West said.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: