a Democratic candidate for governor California will try Tiktok, but there is a warning. He posts videos only in Spanish.
At least for now.
Former Biden Management Health Secretary Xavier Becerra It uses a popular short video app to target Spanish users. His campaign and research note that Hispanic adults use tiktoks in much higher numbers than black and white adults.
Last year Congress passed a ban on Tiktok, but signed the bill, and President Joe Biden, then Besella’s boss, announced before he resigned. I won’t force it. President Donald Trump after the Supreme Court ruled the banned constitution I paused that The Chinese-based company’s deadline and the first day of his inauguration will give him time to find new buyers.
Trump, a Republican, tried to ban his business with Byte Dance during his first term, but he joined the platform last year and has millions of followers. He repeatedly extended the Baite Dance deadline, finding a buyer, and Sometimes it was hinted The contract was in place, but without providing details. The White House launched its own Tiktoc account last month.
Becerra’s new approach was part of a Democrat’s efforts to counter the right-wing swing seen last year in both red states such as Texas and Florida, and blue states such as California, New Jersey and New York, where Trump has improved the number of Latinx people.
The idea is to lock into the key user base by pushing content out quickly on platforms that politicians are still experimenting with. The effort comes as the Trump administration abolishes multilingual services as part of the president’s push to create English Official language of the United States.
Candidates running for the 2025 elections in New Jersey and Virginia are already Adapt the campaign Based on his financial promises, he appeals to Hispanics who may have left the poll or voted for Trump. However, strategists say whether the trend will hold or not is still open to debate.
“It’s important that language and voters communicate on a platform where they spend time and get information,” Becerra said in a statement.
A 2024 Pew Research Centre survey found that Tiktok had seen significant user growth in a short time, but that demographics differed depending on race and ethnicity. Almost half of Hispanic adults reported using it, compared to 39% of black adults and 28% of white adults.
Becerra’s campaign says it will push the mix of videos directly from the camera, policy explanators and behind-the-scenes clips from the campaign trail, as well as pushing the mix of videos. They will also work with influencers to release videos created by supporters. All in Spanish.
“Working class Latino Democrats don’t necessarily go to Spanish websites, but they scroll through vertical videos in their free time,” said Jose Muñoz, a Democrat strategist and former spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
In this year’s New Jersey governor’s race, both Democratic candidate Mikier Cheryl and Republican candidate Jacques Ciattarelli are taking part in Univision’s Spanish-language town hall where Hispanic voters ask candidates questions. In Virginia, Democratic governor candidate Abigail Spanberger speaks Spanish in a radio ad about being the mother of three girls who attended public schools.
“I know how difficult things can be for families these days,” she says in Spanish.
One of Becerra’s challengers in the 2026 California Governor’s race, Katy Porter quickly established herself as a major competitor in the Democratic primary, earning a considerable following in Tiktok, with around 200,000 followers on Instagram and 164,000 on Facebook.
In his introductory video, Becerra says his priorities are to make housing more affordable and reduce healthcare costs.
“I am the only candidate in this race and will speak to you in Spanish on this platform,” he said. “But I want to make this a two-way conversation. I want to learn what you are most concerned about and what you want from the next California governor.”
