With Election Day just around the corner, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have intensified their efforts to court the Latino vote, campaigning across southwestern states where Latino voters hold considerable sway. Latino voters represent 14.7% of all eligible voters in the U.S. for this election, with New Mexico leading with a Latino population share of about 45%, followed by California, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada. While California and Texas are predictably blue and red respectively, Arizona and Nevada, where Harris held her rallies, are crucial swing states.
Democrats have historically led with Latino voters, but recent polling shows that this advantage has waned over the last four election cycles, especially among Latino men, some of whom favor Trump on issues such as inflation and cost of living. Addressing a crowd in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Trump said, “I like you very much, and it’s good for my credentials with the Hispanic or Latino community,” though he jokingly asked the audience not to make him “waste a whole damn half a day here.” Despite New Mexico’s blue tilt—President Joe Biden won the state by 10.8 points in 2020—Trump believes he can win it, claiming, “We almost won it twice, and let me tell you, I believe we won it twice,” while suggesting that prior election results in New Mexico were manipulated.
Trump’s campaign, however, faced backlash last week after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made offensive comments about Latinos during a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden, calling Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage” and joking that Latinos “love making babies.” Campaign officials quickly distanced Trump from these remarks, though the former president has yet to apologize directly.
In New Mexico, Trump’s message focused heavily on immigration and border security, emphasizing the state’s border issues and asserting, “I am the only one that knows how to fix it.” However, a recent CNBC poll revealed that Latino voters ranked immigration as their fourth most pressing concern, with inflation, jobs, and threats to democracy taking higher priority. Furthermore, more Latino voters view immigration as beneficial to the U.S., though the gap has narrowed in recent years.
In contrast, Vice President Harris campaigned in Phoenix, Arizona, and in Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada, with a focus on the economy while contrasting her approach to Trump’s stance on immigration. “With five days left in this campaign, my opponent is making his closing argument to America—a message filled with hate and division,” Harris told the Phoenix crowd. “He insults Latinos, scapegoats immigrants, and it’s not just what he says; it’s what he will do if elected.”
At a Las Vegas rally, Harris was introduced by singer Jennifer Lopez, who emphasized her Puerto Rican heritage and addressed the significance of Latino unity, saying, “[Trump] has consistently worked to divide us. It wasn’t just Puerto Ricans that were offended that day; it was every Latino in this country.”
Both campaigns are ramping up efforts to reach Latino voters as November 5 approaches. Recently, Trump convened a roundtable with Latino business leaders in Florida, while Harris appeared in a pre-recorded interview aired by Telemundo, demonstrating the critical role that Latino voters are expected to play in this year’s election.