The Exclusion of Latina Moderators from Presidential Debates is a Tradition

When the Commission on Presidential Debates excluded Latinx journalists as moderators of the official three U.S. presidential debates and one vice presidential debate, Latinos were sharply critical. But none of us should have been surprised because this exclusion is not news. It’s a tradition.

Since 1988, the Commission has sponsored all the presidential debates. In the last election cycle, not one Latinx moderator was included. In fact, no Latinx journalist has ever served as moderator for a U.S. presidential debate.

U.S. policies that have devastated Latinx communities have also been made invisible during this election cycle. While the series of 11 Democratic primary debates did include five Latinx journalists, not one of these debates posed a question on the multiple crises affecting Puerto Rico. The horror of separated, caged, and disappeared immigrant children, and U.S. policy towards Latin America were barely brought up.

This has all unfolded on the politically liberal side of the fence, despite Latinos for decades making the case about our growing population and the need to engage our communities through trusted journalists.

But some real talk: While we must hold institutions that feel it’s perfectly fine to exclude the voices of Latinx people –who are 18.5% of the U.S. population– we must also, at the same time, create what we want to see unfold. We need to develop strategic plans with new tactics, instead of waiting for others to decide our time and place.

How do we, as a community, build towards a national presidential debate, with or without the Commission, where hard-nosed Latinx journalists put the candidates on the hot seat? We begin by reviewing the list of Commission leaders and sponsors and applying targeted pressure. We rev up by leveraging the clout of Latino organizations and associations across the country. And we, in 2022, insist that the Commission and political parties respond publicly on how they will take action. Otherwise, we can expect to rehash the same complaints in 2024.

As for the moderators, Latina journalists should be front and center, instead of the same marquis male journalists. Here’s our starting list of Latinas who are not going to allow candidates to squirm out of answering hard questions. Tell us who else you think should be here.

Suzanne Gamboa
Suzanne Gamboa is a veteran journalist who covered the Texas statehouse under then Gov. George Bush and went on to report out of Washington DC, where she became the race and ethnicity reporter for the Associated Press’s Washington DC bureau. Over two decades, she has covered national politics, presidential elections, immigration and Latino issues. She is currently a national reporter for NBC Latino and NBCNews.com

Michelle García
For years, journalist and essayist Michelle Garcia has been challenging one-dimensional reporting and analysis of the U.S. experience. Her "Rewriting the West" series for Guernica was a rigorous examination of the roots of U.S. violence towards immigrants and her documentary film Against Mexico – the Making of Heroes and Enemies— was featured in PBS’s 2012 election coverage. Garcia’s work has appeared in the Columbia Journalism Review, NPR, and New York Times.

Maria Hinojosa
For more than 25 years, from CNN to NPR, Maria Hinojosa has brought to the forefront of U.S. consciousness a range of issues, including the treatment of immigrants and the immigration detention industrial complex. She is an author, professor, co-host of the podcast In The Thick, and since 2010, has been at the helm of the Futuro Media Group, which she established as a nonprofit news media organization.

Sunny Hostin
The View co-host Asunción “Sunny” Hostin is a no-nonsense analyst, commentator and attorney. Prior to The View, Hostin brought her experience as a former federal prosecutor to CNN, where she provided legal analysis on national stories. The former ABC news anchor has covered and weighed in on major legal and political crises gripping the nation, including racism in policing and criminal justice, and the politicization of the Department of Justice.

Lori Montenegro
Since the 1990’s, Lori Montenegro has delivered national and international news to millions of Latinx people. For years, she served as Telemundo’s senior Washington, D.C. correspondent before being named last May as its bureau chief there. Montenegro has covered countless issues including the rise and fall of major immigration reform bills. Prior to Telemundo, Montenegro reported for Univision and the United States Information Agency.

Soledad O’Brien
From her perch on Twitter, journalist Soledad O’Brien launches a sharp and needed critique of how journalists and news media are failing their audiences. The former anchor and reporter for CNN, MSNBC, and NBC has produced documentaries on the impact of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the opioid epidemic and being Black in America. She founded Soledad O’Brien Productions and reports for HBO Real Sports and PBS News Hour.

Maria Elena Salinas
The incomparable Maria Elena Salinas is a household name. The journalist, columnist and author has interviewed every president since Jimmy Carter. In 2007, Salinas co-hosted the first Democratic and Republican presidential candidate forums in Spanish for Univision. Salinas currently brings her deep expertise in national and international affairs to CBS News, where she has covered the 2020 Democratic and Republican National Conventions.

Omaya Sosa Pascual
A relentless investigative journalist, Omaya Sosa Pascual spent years reporting for El Nuevo Día and then co-founded in 2010 the nonprofit Center for Investigative Journalism in Puerto Rico. Sosa Pascual led the Center in documenting and reporting on the growing death toll from Hurricane Maria that President Trump diminished. The Center helped uncover the #Rickyleaks scandal, which ultimately led to the massive ousting of the Island’s governor’s in 2019.

“Here’s our starting list of Latinas who are not going to allow candidates to squirm out of answering hard questions. Tell us who else you think should be here.”