Eva Longoria tells Latinos: ‘Don’t sit out the November elections’

Actress-turned-activist Eva Longoria delivered a clear message to Latinos on Thursday: Don’t sit out the elections in November.

In an interview with MSNBC host Jose Diaz-Balart on Thursday, Longoria said she understands many Latinos feel disillusioned to vote this year because of the gridlock in Congress over immigration reform and other issues. But she said they shouldn’t let that dissuade them from going out to vote in the upcoming midterm elections.

“I keep telling everybody our democracy is not a spectator sport. You have to participate,” she said. “You can’t sit back and complain if you’re not going to participate in the process.”

Longoria was on MSNBC promoting the 2014 American Latino Media Arts Awards, also known as the ALMA Awards, which are put on by the National Council of La Raza and will air Friday on MSNBC. Longoria is co-hosting this year’s ALMA Awards with Extra host Mario Lopez.

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For years, Longoria has been stressing the importance of having more Latinos turning out to vote and participating in the political process.

On May 5, she joined Henry Muñoz III, who is the national finance chair for the Democratic National Committee, to launch a political action committee called the Latino Victory Project. The group’s mission is to increase the number of Latinos elected to local, state and federal offices.

Latinos currently make up about 17 percent of the population in the United States. Yet, there are only 28 Latinos serving in the House of Representatives and three in the Senate. In addition, only eight Latinos are serving in statewide offices.

Back in May, at the launching of the Latino Victory Project in Washington, D.C., Longoria stressed the importance of not only getting more Latinos elected to office, but also getting more Latinos to vote during the midterm elections.

“We can’t, as a community, be so engaged in the presidential elections and elect the president, but not turn up at midterms to elect the people who have to work with the president,” she said.

SEE ALSO: Leaders take history lesson from Prop. 187 to mobilize Latino voters