Patricia Ruiz-Cantu, an evangelical leader from Milwaukee, joins host Adam Phillips, to discuss how her Christian faith drives her efforts to engage Latino voters, combat misinformation, and embrace joy in polarizing times.
In this episode of Faith in Elections, Adam Phillips talks with Patricia Ruiz-Cantu, an evangelical leader from Milwaukee, who discusses how her Christian faith inspires her to promote civic engagement within the Latino community. Reflecting on her journey as an immigrant and her conversion from Catholic to Evangelical, she explains challenges Latino voters face, including misinformation. Patricia highlights her initiative, Renaces (You Are Reborn), which focuses on civics education for Latino Evangelicals, and underscores the importance of bringing joy and optimism to election work, even in divisive times.
Guest Bio: Patricia Ruiz-Cantu, as a Community Outreach Manager at the City of Milwaukee, has over eight years of experience in developing and implementing innovative programs and initiatives that foster authentic human connections and civic engagement among diverse communities. She collaborates with various stakeholders, including faith leaders, media outlets, non-profit organizations, and elected officials, to build trust, collaboration, and awareness on various issues and opportunities that impact the city and its residents.
In addition to her role as a Community Outreach Manager, Patricia also serves as an Election Commissioner and a Certified Coach, Trainer, and Speaker with The John Maxwell Team. These roles allow her to leverage her skills in conflict resolution, workshop facilitation, and leadership development to empower individuals and groups to achieve their goals and create positive change. As a bilingual and bicultural professional in Spanish and English, she has a unique perspective and ability to communicate effectively across cultures and contexts.
Find out more about Civics 101 and Renaces by following Patricia on X @Pruizcantu.
The identity of “evangelical” contains a wide range of people from across America and the world. We believe they have an important role to play in America’s Diverse Democracy. In collaboration with Christianity Today, Interfaith America has launched a new essay series that equips Christians to live faithfully and neighborly in a world we don’t control. Featuring leaders in the evangelical tradition—like John Inazu, Karen Swallow Prior, Matthew Kaemingk, and Russell Moore—this series offers thoughtful and diverse perspectives on how Christians can build bridges across differences in their communities. To read the series and learn more about our work with evangelicals, visit Evangelicals in a Diverse Democracy.
Visit Interfaith America to learn more about the organization and our podcast.
Learn more about how you can support your community this election season with Interfaith America's Faith in Elections Playbook.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date with new episodes, interfaith stories, and our programs.
[00:00:01] Adam Phillips: I've been thinking a lot about what it means to be a person of faith during this election season. Being in community with each other and exercising our civic duty is one of the best ways we can show up for each other. Since this election could be decided by an interesting and unlikely coalition of voters in a handful of battleground states, I'm thinking about that blue wall. Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, where you have Catholic voters, African-American faithful voters, and increasingly Latino voters.
Also voters from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in places like Maricopa County, Arizona. Yes, too, I'm thinking about the uncommitted voters in Michigan, folks from both the Muslim and Christian communities that identify as Arab-American voters. In all honesty, it's an opportunity to test whether our words match our actions. What does it mean to be a bridge builder in civic spaces? I'm reminded of that verse from my own Christian tradition, standing on the shoulders of the Hebrew scriptures, about standing in the gap for others.
In Ezekiel 22:30, the prophet says on behalf of God, "I looked for anyone to repair the wall and stand in the gap for me on behalf of the land so I wouldn't have to destroy it, but I couldn't find anyone." With this in mind, I want you to think about what it looks like to be a bridge builder when you're in the middle of a rock and a hard place. We're going to talk to just one of those leaders today, a leader that is standing in the gap, using her faith to lead with joy, to meet people where they are, and to come through her own adversity to help others.
I'm Adam Phillips, Chief Strategy Officer and co-host of Faith in Elections. A special pre-election series highlighting people working tirelessly to build bridges across diverse communities and uphold free and fair elections in a season marked by chaos and division. Our guest, Patricia Ruiz-Cantu, is a respected evangelical leader and community organizer based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who has dedicated her career to empowering communities, particularly her Latino community.
As a recipient of the Faith in Elections Playbook Grant, Patricia firmly believes that her faith calls her to uphold and support the democratic process through voter rights awareness, poll worker trainings, and community gatherings, both online and off. I want to talk to her about how her spiritual convictions motivate her work and how she welcomes evangelical voters to look across the aisle and into their hearts this upcoming election. Patricia, welcome to Faith in Elections.
[00:02:31] Patricia Ruiz-Cantu: Thank you for having me. It's an honor to be here.
[00:02:33] Adam: It's so great to have you with us in this really pivotal moment, I think, not just in our democracy, but in American history. I'd like to just get into it, if you don't mind. The first question I have is, what is it like to come from Mexico to the United States and face significant challenges, and end up as a community leader for the city of Milwaukee?
[00:02:54] Patricia: Well, I'm glad that you asked me that because one of the questions that people ask me all the time is, "Why do you do this work?" I'm from Mexico, from a small town of less than 114 people. It's called El Transval, Michoacán. In there, there was only a school up to sixth grade. I wanted to go on to seventh grade, but you had to go on to a different town. I had a conversation with my father, and I told him that I wanted to study. His father had retired from Illinois. He worked for the state of Illinois.
Then we decided to migrate into the United States for the American dream, for education. In the process, my dad passes away. Not even two years when we got here to the United States, he passes away. My mom was left with four kids, no English, did not know anybody. We struggled. We really struggled. We struggled because there was no information on where we could connect with resources and the processes. The process of us becoming a US citizen died when my father died.
When we went into our initial review for immigration, the officer basically said, "Well, the person that wanted you here already passed, so you have no status." That basically, at 16, opened up my mind. I'm like, "Oh, my God. What is this? Why? We are here in the process of becoming legal." My dad was legal, of course. "Then he died." Then, therefore, the process died. Then talking to people, we were able to go in front of a judge.
Then they gave us humanitarian status. Then we stayed here in the United States. It was a process that right away I saw the need of making sure that we were active in the democratic process in general and the different systems. Because if we're not, aware and we don't have that education, then we go through the cracks, especially the new immigrants that do not know the different processes.
[00:05:01] Adam: It's quite moving to think about you as an immigrant kid living in the United States in a country that's not your own, but yet you are leaning in and looking not only to make it your own, but to make it a better place for your neighbors. At a very young age, what sparked for you this question, not just for your own family, but for those in the community around you that you wanted to lean in?
[00:05:25] Patricia: The first thing that I want to say is the faith. Faith has played a tremendous role in our lives, in our family's life. Through faith, we came to the United States with the faith of a better life, better education, better future. Then when my dad passed, also my mom was, "Well, are we going to go back?" I said, "No, because God allowed us to be here for a reason."
Then as we struggled, I promised myself and my dad's grave that, God had brought us here and that I was not going to let no other family struggle the same way that we did. That I was going to be that bridge to try to figure out what was going to happen. I had amazing people around me that allow me to do that.
[00:06:09] Adam: You identify as an evangelical Christian, is that correct?
[00:06:13] Patricia: Yes.
[00:06:14] Adam: Describe what that looks like in terms of your own experience, your lived experience as an evangelical immigrant living in the Midwest.
[00:06:21] Patricia: I want to say that I converted. My whole family is Catholic and we were Catholic. When I was 14, I converted. I became a evangelical Christian. It has changed my whole perspective because to follow Jesus Christ's values in life, that's what has taught me. That's my playbook. That is what I go for. That's like when I'm feeling down and I feel like I'm not making a dent or people are judging me, then I think of Jesus Christ and I said, "You know what? He came from nothing. Then he worked, worked, and then people didn't believe him. He still did good. He still tried to make sure that people around him have a good quality of life."
[00:07:07] Adam: There's a picture of evangelicals in America that people have in their head that they might look a certain way, that they may stand for one party over another. How do you show people that evangelicals, even perhaps on other sides of the aisle, that their faith can lead them to a different view on the issues and that they should be proud of how their faith influences their participation?
[00:07:28] Patricia: Good that you asked that because one of the biggest struggles that I've had since college is that when they think of evangelicals, they have a label. You could think of people in the right and they have this visual of who we should be. Then you have these people in the left and they have a vision of who we are. God has gave us so many gifts and talents. I think that one of the talents that I have learned to appreciate and love is that my work is to be out there in the community normalizing who we are.
Some people don't even want to say that they're evangelicals because of the fear of the labeling. I've been in spaces where they don't want to open the door for me because they're like, "Oh, you are so close-minded that you're not going to be able to be in this particular group." Then I would start showing them with my actions and my work that, "No, I'm not going to be judging of the different committees. I'm there to add value."
[00:08:27] Adam: You recently wrote about voting reforms for urban Milwaukee. You said that, "In the Gospel of Matthew, we are told about leaders who lay heavy burdens on the people. Today, many leaders do the same, restricting access to the ballot box to hoard power. As evangelicals, we must defend righteousness, not out of loyalty to a political party, but out of loyalty to Christ." As a woman of faith, as an elections commissioner, could you share a little bit more about why voting reform matters?
[00:08:55] Patricia: It is extremely important because there's so many ways that people could prevent individuals to go vote. In order for us to be good citizens, we have to actually educate ourselves on what's happening. I'll give you an example that's happening here in Wisconsin, showing citizenship in the polls. One of the populations that's going to get affected the most is the Latino, the brand new US citizens. Why? Because you become a neutralized citizen. You don't automatically go in into DMV and register.
When you go in and they put in your name and your name might not say that you are a US citizen because it takes a while to get into the system. A normal US citizen doesn't carry his birth certificate all the time. They take their driver's license and that's what they carry. If I go to the polling location and they say, "Patricia, your name is not here. You need to bring us proof of your citizenship." I'm showing you my driver's license because in order to get your driver's license or your ID, you need to verify that you are a US citizen here in Wisconsin.
[00:10:02] Adam: It's interesting how each state has their own complicated voting laws on the books. Now I want to talk about something maybe a little bit less nonpartisan. I was in the car recently and I heard you come on NPR joining in with Evangelicals for Harris. Faith in Elections Playbook is a nonpartisan effort. I'm curious as an evangelical who's been working in very nonpartisan ways, how do you stay firm in your political convictions as a vocal supporter of Harris, but also building bridges with your faith with your neighbors who may disagree?
[00:10:35] Patricia: I prayed a lot to come public because I knew that coming public for Evangelicals for Harris was going to bring some issues with some of the people that I work with that are Republican. That have their beliefs very, very strong on saying, "I will vote Republican because of abortion," period. For me, it was very important to come out and support as an evangelical this particular ticket because it's more than that. It's more than just one topic. It's more than just one particular thing. It's about who is going to be the candidate that is going to be showing those values and is going to be showing the love of Christ, love your neighbor.
[00:11:26] Adam: I'm assuming you've had pressure, if not just in this election, but in other elections to endorse other candidates. How do you hold that in tension and how do you stay in community with those, maybe even in your own local church that are going to choose to vote differently?
[00:11:42] Patricia: This is the first time that I'm publicly actually working for a presidential election publicly saying I'm endorsing this ticket. The reason why is because it's such a crucial moment in this country. The hate is terrible. For example, here in Wisconsin, there's this pact that put in some commercials in Spanish. They're so ugly and divisive. Some of the people that I've been talking to, they don't want to go out and vote. That's a struggle that I have.
Then they see that I'm about unity, building bridges, and making sure that people have good quality of life. The reason why people came to this country from day one was for freedom, for freedom of religion, for better quality of life. Then that's why I'm very vocal of it. Especially in my church or in my community, when some people tell me, how could you come out and say that you are a killer the same as they are?
Yesterday I had a long message, a 10-minute message from somebody. It hurt my soul because this person was crying and naming a lot of police officers that have lost their lives. Then at the end, this person said, "And it's all because of this administration and it's all because of Kamala Harris. If you are endorsing her and if you're with her, you are taking part of everything that she has done. May God help you."
It actually hurt me in a way, but my goal is to go in and talk to people with my actions so they can see that I'm true to my beliefs, I'm true to what I've said through all the years. Just right now is the time for me to not stand in the sidelines, but to take actions. It's the hateful messages that are coming out is just terrible. Deep inside my core, I feel that people are not going to go out to vote. My goal is to make sure that I push that no matter what, you have to participate. You have to participate.
[00:13:53] Adam: It's so interesting that a political action committee would invest millions of dollars you would think to get out the vote. Yet you're saying that this campaign by this PAC is actually having the opposite effect. People are going to stay home.
[00:14:05] Patricia: Yes. This person saw one of those ads and it was directed to Latino. Latinos are going to be the community that's going to make this election. If Latinos don't come out to vote-- even here in Wisconsin, Latinos are going to make this election. That's why I mentioned this voicemail that I got in my phone. The right, right, they're judging me and judging us. The left, left, left, are judging me and judging us. It's like we're trying to be in the middle to make sure that we are the bridge is hard. You know what? With the help of God, we're going to survive.
[00:14:47] Adam: After the break, we find out how Patricia pushes past the hate by surrounding herself with community. What Patricia's story has shown us so far is that when you're doing work that is important, you can find yourself in the middle of many caststones, but she doesn't let any of it deter her. She combats the judgment, the phone calls, and the bad-faith ads by disseminating information about local national laws that affect her community and providing a safe space for them to ask questions. Patricia, can you tell us about the online group you run?
[00:15:19] Patricia: I have this group that is called Dejando Huella and it's leaving your mark. It's a private group. It started so organically. It's extremely important to note that social media could be fantastic to disseminate information, but then also it could be detrimental because people could just take a sound bite of something that you say and then they can make a meme and they could just take it totally the wrong way. This particular group, in February it was 26,000 and now we're at 28,000 people and it's a private group and we talk about different values.
I encourage people in this group to look into what is their purpose. Why do they think God's purpose of them to be here in this earth? It could just be to be that pillar in the household. Or it could just be that person in their church that's going to be that smiley face that when somebody comes in-- or that person that is always saying good morning, just to try to figure out. Because a lot of times we're afraid of showing who we are and we have to normalize having faith values.
Somebody asked me the other day, "Well, what's your religion? What's your church?" I said, "No, I don't want to put a label on who I am." I don't want somebody to judge me of which church I go to or who's my pastor or who's my leader. I want people to understand that we should try so that God is our leader. He is the path that we go through and if we follow that path, he's going to allow us to just continue doing this fantastic work.
[00:16:58] Adam: You're also working on this really interesting project, Renacis, which means rebirth in Spanish. It's an organization that works in Latino communities engaging faith leaders and community groups to protect the democratic process. I'm aware it's also where you do your Civics 101 work. I'm wondering if you can tell us a little bit more about the Civics 101 initiative and how the Faith in Elections Playbook has helped you do that.
[00:17:20] Patricia: Well, Civics 101, it was born out of love to make sure that people understood civics. Even people that were born here in the United States do not know who is who. This Civics 101 tells you exactly why elections are important. Why it's important to go in and vote for your school board, why it's important to vote for your county supervisor, your county executive, your mayor, your alderman, and then so on and so forth.
Because it is extremely important to understand who makes your decisions that affect you every day. People blame the president for things that the president has nothing to do with it is your local elections, your local elected officials that make those decisions. Those are the people that you elect and that you are closer to than the president of the United States.
[00:18:18] Adam: I love that because Faith in Elections is not just about what happens in November. As clear as the results will be, as consequential as decisions are made, but what does it look like to have faith in the democratic process beyond the elections in February, in March? The Civics 101 is so important. Based on what you see working, can you give us some tips on how folks can encourage those in their faith communities to lean in and to participate in our electoral process?
[00:18:47] Patricia: You talk to five people in your network. It could be your family members and then ask them to talk to another five people and then we will multiply it. If you talk to an individual about their situation and their family situation, it's most likely that they're going to go vote. To show them how this vote and how being civically engaged will change their quality of life, not only for themselves, but their family and their little community.
[00:19:15] Adam: You're not just recruiting folks to go talk to others, although I love that. You're also recruiting poll workers and poll chaplains. Can you say a little bit more about that?
[00:19:24] Patricia: The first thing I start with is poll workers because if I go and talk to people about chaplains or volunteers, they're like, "Oh, it's a whole day." Then I tell them, "You could also work the elections and get paid. You'll get paid for the training and then you will get paid for the day. That way you will understand how the process works and you'll be part of the process so that your family and everybody will trust the system." A lot of times people say, "Well, oh, the elections are rigged. Everything is just fake," blah, blah, blah.
If you actually work in the elections as a poll worker, you will see that people actually go in and vote and then there's a central count where people are counting those votes, and it's very, very open and clear and transparent. Then they're like, "Oh, no, I don't want to commit." Then I said, "Well, you could also be there as a poll observer."
You could go in and observe. Then also you could be a poll chaplain. If somebody is afraid you could go in with them, or just be there for them so that their vote is going to be inspired by God. Because a lot of people say, "I pray, and then whatever, is God's will, whoever's going to be the president is God's will." I said, "Yes, it's God's will, but he's given us the opportunity to help him with that result, so."
[00:20:42] Adam: To be a poll chaplain, you don't necessarily have to be ordained to be a pastor or anything like that. It's just anybody can do it.
[00:20:49] Patricia: Anybody can do it.
[00:20:50] Adam: Amazing. Many people think engaging in politics and election work is heavy and often disheartening work in such divisive times, but you exude joy, optimism, hope. What is a message of encouragement you'd share to those who care about their communities, but feel that politics and election work is exhausting and negative?
[00:21:12] Patricia: Well, I think that as people of God, we shouldn't have everything just so smooth, and we have to bring joy into the picture. I mentioned it over and over, if we're not on the table, we're in the menu. If we want our values to be present in every single aspect of politics, we need to be there and we need to be joyful and we need to bring that spirit that we have within ourselves to bring that joy. Looking always at the positive.
[00:21:47] Adam: Here at Interfaith America, we like to say America is a potluck nation, not a melting pot, that we all have something unique to contribute. First off, what actual food are you bringing to the potluck? Second, what are you figuratively bringing to the potluck that is American democracy?
[00:22:02] Patricia: [chuckles] I'm a terrible cook. [laughter]
[00:22:05] Adam: What are you picking up at the store to bring?
[00:22:09] Patricia: I bring sweets. I'm not a cook, I'm a baker. I'm always bringing sweets and then I bring my spirit. I think that when you bring a joyful spirit, no matter who is there with a negative aura, with a negative attitude, as long as you bring your light in, you will be able to connect with that person at one point. That's one of the things that I loved about the work that Interfaith America is doing and that I started doing with this grant.
The first session that I did a potluck, it was so amazing that after we finished, people did not want to leave. At the end, I asked them to describe in one word how the session, how the group, how it was. Then there was one particular person that said, "I cannot say it in one word, I'm just going to say it. I hated you, I judged you, and now I love you and I'm blessed to be here." That was just amazing.
[00:23:17] Adam: Beautiful. Thank you, Patricia.
[00:23:19] Patricia: Thank you for having me.
[00:23:22] Adam: I truly think faith leaders are going to make a difference this election season. I'm not just talking about clergy. I'm talking about anybody in a local congregation that takes it upon themselves to be helpful, to serve their neighbors, to help folks find the right polling place and find the right information online. Because that's what you do. That's what people of faith do. We meet people where they are. Whether it's online or in real life, we help them find out where to vote, we help them gather the information, and we make ourselves available to each other.
That's what it really means to fully live your faith, to encourage others rather than just ideas. Again, it's not about the outcome per se, but it's about building that more beautiful, religiously diverse democracy that we have here as Interfaith America, the nation. Thank you, Patricia Ruiz Cantu of Renacis. You can find more information about her Civics 101 initiative by following her work on X @Pruizcantu. That's P-R-U-I-Z-C-A-N-T-U.
We'd also love to hear from you. Please leave us a review and follow us on Instagram @interfaithamerica. To read more about this conversation and find resources and stories about bridge building and our religiously diverse nation, visit our website, interfaithamerica.org.
Faith in Elections is part of our Voices of Interfaith America podcast network. This episode was hosted by me, Adam Phillips. Production was provided by Keisha TK Dutes, our executive producer. "Manny Faces," is our producer and audio editor for Philo's Future Media. The story editing by Johanna Zorn. The Interfaith America team is Silma Suba and Rheya Spigner, our executive producers.
Noah Silverman is our editorial director and our Democracy Initiatives team is senior director, Becca Hartman-Pickerill, and manager, Rollie Olson. We couldn't do this without our coordinated producers, Teri Simon and Olivia Stufflebeam, Rachel Crowe, our production assistant, and Katherine O'Brien, our marketing manager. Share Faith in Elections with a friend and rate, follow, subscribe wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.
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