President-elect Donald Trump made significant gains with Hispanic voters in Texas and across the country during this election cycle.
According to exit polling by the Washington Post, 55% of Latino voters in Texas supported Trump, marking a 14-point swing from the 41% he received in 2020, as reported by the Houston Chronicle.
“The realignment continues, and it’s a phenomenon to behold,” said Orlando Sanchez, former Harris County Treasurer and president of the Texas Latino Conservatives, according to the Chronicle.
Trump also managed to flip several Democratic-majority Hispanic border counties. In one example, Starr County gave Trump 57% of the vote, breaking a 128-year streak of Democratic wins, as the New York Post reported.
Nationwide, 45% of Latino voters supported Trump in 2020, up from just 29% in 2016. Notably, Trump won the majority of Latino men, securing 54% of their vote, per the Post.
The president of the LIBRE Initiative, Daniel Garza, said that Trump’s win was due to “the working class rejecting the political class who don’t relate when it comes to the economy,” according to the Post.
“They were ignored and told to shut up and feel the ‘joy,'” Garza said.
Trump’s growing support from Latino voters also helped him in key swing states such as Pennsylvania. Many Latino voters focused on Trump’s policies instead of his character, reported the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Latino Democrats admitted that Harris had a messaging problem.
“(Republicans) pounded those issues from the get-go,” said Sergio Lira, a Democrat and president of the Greater Houston LULAC Council, reported the Chronicle.
“That has been a consistent message for nine years and it didn’t waver or change, whereas Kamala Harris’ message was not as consistent or strong as Trump’s messaging,” he said.
Some Latinos, such as Juan Hernandez, a Texas business owner, felt that Latinos were leaving the Democrat party because they were disillusioned with the economy.
“As a small-business owner, we’re hurting” because of rising costs, Hernandez said, reported the Chronicle.