Latino voters in battlegrounds share diverse priorities they want Harris, Trump to address

When Vice President Kamala Harris visited the Arizona border town of Douglas in late September, Alexandra Cáñez and her friends, Miguel Angel Felix Pacheco and Hector Felix, saw a presidential candidate for the first time as they visited what they call their “sleepy town.” “the town

The friends — all in their 20s — have different views of the border around them. Felix calls it part of his “daily life”; Cáñez said that “everyone ignores our community, even though everyone is always talking about the border” and was pleased by Harris’ attention.

Harris visited the critical battleground state of Arizona to announce tougher border policies, a top issue for voters as Election Day nears. Harris and former President Donald Trump are working to address key voter issues, such as border security, immigration and the economy, while trying to appeal to diverse Latino voters — one of the largest and fastest growing groups — in the battle. -in the states

Since the last presidential election, Latinos have grown at the second fastest rate of the most important racial and ethnic groups in the US electorate. According to Pew Research. They are the second largest group of voters in the United States.

Through ads, outreach and campaign events, the Harris and Trump campaigns have worked to engage Latino voters, including participating in two separate Univision town hall events in front of Spanish-speaking audiences, with Harris’ event on Thursday evening and Trump’s next. per week

Still, many Latinos say photos of politicians touching the border wall won’t solve their problems.

“I think where the two parties are really mixing it up is putting us all in the same boat,” said Puerto Rican voter Enrique Castro of Reading, Pennsylvania. “Yes, I agree that something needs to be done about the border, but if they go down there to take pictures at the border, that’s not going to change anything here, especially without a real plan to fix immigrants without making them look like criminals. .”

Reading (Pennsylvania), often referred to as the “Latino Belt,” has 67% of its population of Latin descent. US Census figures. In 2011, it was named the poorest city in America, with a poverty rate of 41%, though it will drop to 29% in 2023, which is still more than double the national average. Findings from the US Census Bureau.

For Reading voters — and Latino voters in general — both Latino outreach and economic messaging are important.

Top issues for Hispanic voters are the economy, inflation and health care, according to an August ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll. The priorities align with the top issues for Americans overall, according to polls.

The diversity of the Latino community

In battleground states like Pennsylvania and Arizona, where Harris and Trump are locked in a racial race, the Latino vote is critical to crossing the finish line, and knowing how to appeal to Latino voters on both sides of the border. states and other battlegrounds is a crucial mission as Election Day approaches, experts told ABC News.

“(Latinos) come from a wide variety of countries of origin, so you can’t show up in Miami with a sombrero and a taco truck,” said Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha.

The diversity of the community makes it difficult to address diverse cultural and generational differences. An American from El Salvador is highly valued by Puerto Ricans and should also be expanded to those groups, Rocha said.

To reach these different cultural identities, including those under the Latino umbrella, the Harris campaign said it has made a strong effort to “micro-target” the community — an effort that shapes outreach to best serve its intended audience.

“The Latino vote is as diverse as it is critical, and from day one our campaign has reflected the diversity of our community. With more than 13 Latino diaspora groups, Boricuas con Kamala, Venezolanos con Kamala and Mexicanos con Kamala, an aggressive paid media campaign targeting Latinos everywhere they consume news and new organizing efforts on WhatsApp, we’re launching a Latino outreach strategy designed to win every vote,” Harris-Walz Coalitions Media Director Maca Casado said in a statement.

The Harris campaign, for its part, has made efforts to decenter its message from identity politics. In Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania, ads are running in English and Spanish focusing on the economy, high drug prices and crime.

Rocha said the Harris campaign is effective in targeting diverse Latino voters.

“You see ads in Pennsylvania in Puerto Rican Spanish and in Arizona ads in Mexican Spanish,” Rocha said. “The campaign is being done in the right way: micro-targeting, multiple languages, different cultural content.”

Republican strategist Mike Madrid said he agrees there is merit in speaking to different groups of voters based on their cultural identity, but said he believes the campaign should focus on Latinos as “working class voters.” That strategy could appeal to Latinos’ views on the economy, an election issue where Trump leads Harris, according to one. the latest ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll.

“There’s too much micro-targeting, and they don’t do enough to focus on the biggest common thread, which is the economic populist, the pocket-sized voter,” said Madrid, who has actively supported The Lincoln Project to oppose Trump. Biden in the 2020 presidential candidacy. “What they should do is talk more as working-class voters and less as Latino voters.”

Madrid said Republicans are using this strategy to frame Latinos as working-class Americans rather than their ethnic identity.

In June, the Trump campaign changed its Hispanic outreach from “Latinos for Trump” to “Latinos for Trump,” emphasizing the American identity of the Latino voter. Trump’s campaign also opened an office in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Earlier this week, Trump held a rally in Reading where he falsely described immigration as an invasion.

“We will not allow these people to invade or conquer us,” Trump said.

Both campaigns are working to woo voters in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state where Biden won by about 80,000 votes in 2020. Harris is ahead by only 1%, according to A survey average of 538.

Both candidates are also working to attract the coveted Latino vote in battleground states. Latino voters split 57-39%, according to Harris-Trump, a September Pew Research study — the split is much wider compared to black voters who split 77-13%.

The number of Latinos eligible to vote has increased by 40% since 2016. According to Pew Research. Rocha said the relative newness of the community in the United States has made them less likely to be loyal to a particular party and more likely to vote based on “who shows up.”

But Madrid warns that Democrats risk alienating third- and fourth-generation voters who simply don’t identify with the politicians they appear to be. He believes these young voters are creating “the emergence of a new vote.”

“It is a revelation, because they are very young,” said Madrid.

30 percent of Latino voters are under 30, According to Pew Researchand this year 36.2 million have the right to vote, more than 32.3 million in 2020. That represents 50% of the total increase in voter turnout during this time, Pew Research found.

“They are coming online and creating something very special,” added Madrid.

Felix, Cáñez and Pacheco of Douglas spoke with ABC News after a screening session at Cochise Community College that Harris was making at the same time as a planned campaign stop. As they watched attendees file in, they said they wouldn’t hear Harris speak and weren’t sure if his visit to their community would be a vote for vice president in November.

However, three people continued to wait outside the hall hoping to see Harris.

Pacheco said he hoped to see something in Harris that would motivate him to get involved in a way that other politicians have not done for him before.

“I’m hoping to see something we haven’t seen before,” Pacheco said.