Voters will head to the polls in 21 days for the midterm elections and decide which political party will control Congress next year. Some political analysts are focusing on the Hispanic community, which is increasingly being considered a swing-vote group.
Monica De La Cruz identifies herself as a former Democrat who is now running for Congress as a Republican in south Texas.
“The Democrat Party has abandoned us and taken us for granted,” said De La Cruz.
She is part of a trio of Republican Latinas on the ballot in the region. A New York Times poll shows that even though 56 percent of Latinos side with Democrats and 32 percent are Republican supporters, numbers have been changing slowly since the 2016 Presidential election.
“So what people have to understand is that Hispanic Americans have blue-collar, working-class values. Who is America’s blue-collar billionaire? Donald Trump,” says Giancarlo Sopo, who worked as a strategist for the former president’s campaign in 2016.
As many political analysts have said, this is the crux of the issue. Just like many groups, Latinos want to have better economic opportunities to support their families and prosper in this country. However, with inflation increasing to 8.6% in September and rising prices for most goods and services, many people are focused on how each party is planning to handle the economy.
Sopo tells CNN that Republicans are becoming an inspirational party, especially among young Latinos who are not immigrants.
Though Republicans claim they are becoming more popular among Latinos, there are still many people in the community who stand by the Democrats, and the party is still expected to get a majority of the Latino vote. Hispanic Americans make up a fifth of the registered electorate, which means that slight changes in percentage can make a big difference.
Little change has been seen since the 2016 election in Florida, which is considered to be highly Republican among Cubans and Venezuelans. During the 2016 election, Democrats won with 62% of the vote but in the 2020 elections their percentage went down to 52 percent. This Nov. 8, both parties will be looking at whether their numbers keep coming closer.
Latino voters could impact the outcome of midterm elections (includes video story)