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By Silvana Tabares
The Rev. Wilfredo De Jesús
This is the first time the Rev. Wilfredo De Jesús of New Life Covenant Church has been involved in a political campaign. The pastor of one of the Latino evangelical churches in Chicago was asked to join the Obama campaign. He, along with a great number of Hispanic evangelicals, helped Obama get elected.
“I believe Barack Obama represents the change we need and the unity we need,” he said.
The Rev. Wilfredo De Jesus of New Life Covenant Church.
(Photo courtesy of Rev. Wilfredo De Jesus).
Obama spoke about poverty, education and immigration, issues important to evangelicals, De Jesus said.
“I felt he resonated with our people, the Hispanic community and especially the Evangelical community,” added De Jesús.
He said there are over 15 million Hispanic evangelicals in the U.S. with a strong population in Illinois, Florida, Colorado and New Mexico.
De Jesús traveled to Indiana, Florida, New Mexico and other states as a campaign surrogate. He did interviews with media, including TV, radio and print.
In Chicago, he met on a regular basis with campaign officials and discussed different strategies to reach out to more Hispanics and Hispanic Evangelicals.
He didn’t attend the inauguration in Washington D.C. choosing instead to give his tickets to a young girl from his church. However, he attended the rally on Nov. 4 in Grant Park, saying it was a historical moment in U.S. history.
Clarisol Duque
Clarisol Duque, who is the Chicago director for the office of Sen. Dick Durbin, worked in the Obama campaign coordinating interviews for TV, radio and print for Latino surrogates such as Congressman Luis Gutiérrez and Congresswoman Linda Sánchez of California.
Continue reading Two Chicago Latinos that Helped Obama Be President
