Latino voters are the second-largest voting bloc in the United States. In this year’s midterm elections, Latino voters reinforced their power as a massive voting bloc.
Latino voters account for nearly 35 million people, about 14 percent of the voting electorate in the U.S.
These voters both tilted the balance for Democrats in key battleground state Senate races in Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Nevada and secured a Republican hold in Florida.
Since 2018, the number of Latino voters has grown by nearly 5 million people, accounting for more than 60 percent of newly eligible voters.
But Latino strategists, pollsters, and advocacy groups say both parties are still missing the mark.
The two parties’ campaigns continue to treat Latino voters like a monolithic group and fail to connect or reach out to voters early on. They also fail to invest in ads grounded in what Latino communities care about.
Experts in Latino political strategies say that campaigns need to take a page from independent groups. Political parties must build trust with voters. They need to listen to what communities and voters care about the most, and then respond with relevant messaging.
According to the 2022 Midterm Election Voter Poll, a comprehensive exit polling of thousands of voters led by the African American Research Collaborative and other groups, nearly two-thirds of Latino voters voted with Democrats.
Even as Republicans gained ground, the data shows that there wasn’t a drastic shift in Latino voters’ support for political parties.
This by no means guarantees that the Democrat party will maintain its popularity with Latino voters.
Experts said that Hispanic voters are sending a message to both parties: they see their own values and policy positions align with the Democratic side but the message to Democrats isn’t so much that they are treating it as a bloc. They are neglecting it.
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