“They keep coming. Two million illegal immigrants in California.” It was 1994 when California’s Republican governor, Pete Wilson, ran these ads during his re-election bid. “There’s a right way, and there’s a wrong way. To reward the wrong way is not the American way.” Wilson was plugging a ballot measure called Prop 187, which tried to block undocumented immigrants from accessing public services, like education. “We need Pete Wilson as governor.” In the short term, Wilson’s messaging worked. He was re-elected governor. But long term, the fallout from Prop 187 helped turn a generation of Latinos in California into Democrats. Today, the Latino population in California is the largest of any state. And 63% are registered Democrats. And now, the president has given them more reasons to make their voices heard. “These are animals.” “They’re rapists.” “Like we have no border.” “Mexico’s paying for the wall.” Latinos could play a critical role in some of California’s congressional races, potentially flipping seats and helping Democrats regain control of the House. They could also help elect California’s first modern-day Latino governor. But will they go to the polls? Latinos make up 34% of California’s adult population. But they’re only 18% of the state’s voting population. One reason they don’t have the electoral power you’d expect could be that politicians haven’t reached out enough. Antonio Villaraigosa, who is running for governor, is the clearest example of a candidate trying to change that. He’s tapping into fear and anger over Trump’s agenda in a number of ads in English and Spanish. In this one, which could be confused with a Hollywood movie, he and a group of activists leave drinking water for border crossers. “I’m the youngest child of a single immigrant mother.” Another high profile Latino candidate, Kevin de León, also talks about his own life story as a way to engage Latino voters. “I owe it to this single mother. This woman and millions like her, throughout the state, throughout the country, who would do everything within their power to protect their children.” Gil Cisneros is a leading candidate in a heavily Latino House district where the Republican congressman is retiring. This ad focuses on giving Latinos the opportunity to go to college. It’s too early to tell if this messaging will work to awaken what some call the “sleeping giant” of the Latino vote. But in the lead up to the November midterms, we’ll see more outreach and advertising directed at Latinos in this key state for Democrats.