Reverend Gabriel Salguero is president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition (NaLEC), an organization that boasts over 3,000 affiliated congregations across the country.
He and his wife Jeanette are co-pastoring the Iglesia El Calvario mega-church in Orlando, FL where they lead services in English and Spanish for 4,000 members. They are encouraging their congregation to get active politically. Said to number 6 million nationally, Latino Evangelicals are being courted by both political parties. The Salgueros describe Latino evangelicals as “the quintessential swing voter. Rev. Salguero says that people often try to categorize him, saying ‘Oh, he’s Latino, he must be a Democrat. Oh, he’s evangelical, he must be a Republican.’ But I’m a Latino evangelical. We are a powerful voting bloc, but my first allegiance is to the gospel, and not to the Republicans and the Democrats.”
America By The Numbers with Maria Hinojosa (ABTN) will examine engaged voters like Reverend Salguero whose power and influence are growing in a 2016 election special titled “The New Deciders.” The one-hour program will air on Tuesday, September 6, 2016 on PBS and local public TV stations (check local listings). For more information, click here.
Image: Reverend Gabriel Salguero on stage. Credit: Monica Wise.
