“There was a recommendation for Hillary to receive the nomination for endorsement,” said BOLD-PAC executive committee member Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), the Hispanic Caucus whip.

AD

AD

“It was pretty easy,” Gallego said. “For most of us that have either been involved with immigration issues or Latino issues, none of us have any history with Bernie.”

The board needs a majority of members to approve the endorsement, which is not expected to be difficult to achieve. The vast majority of the 26-member group has already endorsed Clinton individually. The main holdout has been House Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), one of just three House members who have publicly endorsed Sanders.

“I think most of the members are in support,” said House Democratic Conference Vice Chair Rep. Xavier Becerra, (D-Calif.). “Now we’re gelling and we see that there’s broad support but I think we could have done this a lot earlier.”

AD

The endorsement could provide a critical boost for Clinton ahead of Super Tuesday primaries on March 1, which sweep 11 states through the South and include Colorado, Texas, Virginia, Minnesota and Vermont.

AD

The Latino vote is critical to the Democratic presidential nominee in the general election, especially given GOP front-runner Donald Trump’s divisive comments about undocumented immigrants. According to a Washington Post/Univision poll released on Thursday, Clinton holds roughly a 2-to-1 lead over Sanders with Latinos (though young Hispanics favored Sanders in a pattern replayed across demographic groups). But according to network entrance polling, Sanders beat Clinton by eight points among Latinos in last weekend’s Nevada caucuses.

That same poll showed Hispanics favoring the Democratic nominee, 51 to 14 percent, with 32 percent still undecided.

AD

The CHC endorsement follows a similar move by the Congressional Black Caucus to back Clinton earlier this month. Both endorsements reflect the support of the political groups as a whole. Individual members, like Grijalva, however, are welcome to break with the group.

Members of the caucus have to vote on the endorsement recommendation before it can be formalized.