New York Metropolis, the US – In Queens, 26-year-old Claudia, a first-generation college-educated Latina born in the USA, sat at her household’s dinner desk participating in heated political debates that switched seamlessly between English and Spanish. She and her immigrant mother and father from Mexico and El Salvador clashed over the way forward for the nation all of them name house.
“It’s not about loving [Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala] Harris,” Claudia stated, disenchanted with the administration’s dealing with of Israel’s war on Gaza and immigration, however dedicated to voting in opposition to Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump’s return.
Her mother and father, US residents for greater than a decade, really feel in a different way. They fear about their financial safety – like 52 p.c of Latinos, in accordance with a June survey. And so they assist Trump for his economic policies and in frustration on the inflation the US has skilled in the previous couple of years.
Their resentment is directed in direction of the assist of President Joe Biden’s administration for “new immigrants arriving with advantages, a lodge, and a pathway to paperwork”, whereas their very own kin stay undocumented – a inhabitants that Trump has threatened to deport.
This generational divide inside one household – a part of one of many fastest-growing demographics within the US, with 36.2 million eligible voters making up 14.7 p.c of the citizens – illustrates the challenges each events face in interesting to a bunch that resists easy categorisations.
‘Latinos aren’t a monolith’
Eligible Latino voters within the US are demographically various. About 60 p.c are of Mexican heritage, 13 p.c are Puerto Rican, whereas Cubans, Dominicans, and different Central and South People every symbolize lower than 7 p.c, in accordance with the Nationwide Museum of the American Latino.
Latino voters are additionally, after all, women and men, younger and previous, and immigrants and US-born.
However regardless of this range, political campaigns and the media usually method Latinos as a single voting bloc. “The largest false impression is treating Latinos as in the event that they’re the identical or might be reached with a single message. It’s in regards to the range of concepts, experiences, ideologies,” Julio Ricardo Varela, founding father of The Latino E-newsletter and an MSNBC columnist, informed Al Jazeera.
“The phrase ‘Latinos aren’t a monolith’ must be eradicated—it’s already mainstream. The actual query is, why haven’t political events realised this?” he requested.
As polls reveal that immigration ranks decrease amongst Latino voter priorities, marketing campaign advertisements are adjusting their focus to raised join with new voters. Each Trump and Harris have expanded outreach, together with city halls with Latino voters hosted by Univision, one of many largest Spanish-language networks within the US.
Nevertheless, the rise of misinformation on social media, usually spreading in Spanish and concentrating on immigrant communities, complicates these outreach efforts and has formed perceptions on essential points.
Misinformation on social media spreads false claims about points like immigration insurance policies, voting processes, and authorities advantages. This could foster confusion and distrust, doubtlessly affecting how Latino voters understand marketing campaign messages.
Specialists agree that campaigns now face a twin problem: reaching Latino voters with tailor-made messages whereas additionally countering deceptive narratives that will distort views.
Trump’s attraction
Regardless of his anti-immigration rhetoric, Trump is gaining traction with Latino voters by tapping into nostalgia for the strong economy under his presidency, high-profile endorsements from reggaeton artists, and Spanish-language advertisements.
Nevertheless, Trump’s strongest attraction lies in fearmongering about communism, a message unfold extensively on Spanish-language social media by Trump and his associates.
This outreach has additionally resonated with Latino evangelical communities, who make up 15 p.c of Latinos within the US and are a fast-growing group amongst American evangelical Christians, with almost half leaning Republican, in accordance with a 2022 Pew Analysis Heart survey.
For a lot of Latino immigrants, particularly these from Cuban and Venezuelan communities, Trump’s messaging additionally resonates with recollections of leftist regimes. “Republicans have weaponised the worry of socialism and communism, particularly in Florida,” stated Paola Ramos, creator of Defectors: The Rise of the Latino Far Proper and What It Means for America.
In accordance with Varela, Trump’s techniques mirror Latin American political methods that form election narratives and outcomes.
Not too long ago, Trump shared an AI-generated picture of Vice President Kamala Harris addressing a “communist” crowd on X, which garnered greater than 81 million views.
Varela additionally notes that anti-communist advertisements in Spanish media particularly goal working-class, Spanish-speaking males, framing financial safety as a defence in opposition to ideological threats.
NYU professor and political scientist Cristina Beltran advised that Trump’s attraction faucets into beliefs of masculinity and hierarchy, providing a way of belonging inside a nationalist imaginative and prescient of the US.
“Whiteness has traditionally been a method of understanding American membership as a politics of domination,” she defined to Al Jazeera.
For some Latino males, this framework supplies a way of elevated standing, as Trump’s promise of prosperity and stability appeals to those that see themselves positioned above the undocumented. Beltran added that Trump “provides People a permission construction to embrace these attitudes”.
Harris transferring past id politics
Polling signifies that the majority Latino voters nonetheless favour Harris over Trump.
Beneath marketing campaign supervisor Julie Chavez Rodriguez, the primary Latina to steer a common election effort, the Harris staff has broadened Latino outreach, increasing efforts September 15 to October 15, throughout Hispanic Heritage Month.
The marketing campaign has ramped up advert spending directed at particular Latino teams, resembling Hispanic girls, “Hombres con Harris” [Men for Harris], and 13 diaspora teams like “Boricuas con Kamala” [Puerto Ricans for Harris] and “Mexicanos con Kamala” [Mexicans for Harris]. The marketing campaign additionally allotted $3m for Spanish-language radio advertisements.
Harris’s message moves beyond identity politics, with current advertisements in Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania centered on financial considerations, excessive drug costs, and crime.
Political scientist Beltran noticed that Harris is balancing her id as a lady of color with broader coverage appeals. “No one needs to be merely decreased to their race or gender,” she defined.
“The Harris marketing campaign recognises this and goals to attach with voters on a spread of points, understanding that id encompasses rather more than demographics.”
Her outreach has included advertisements tailor-made to Puerto Rican communities, contrasting with Trump’s current Madison Sq. Backyard rally, which confronted backlash over controversial remarks made by a comic about Puerto Rico.
Beltran famous that Harris’s method has been strategic: “It’s been attention-grabbing watching Harris run advertisements the place Latinidad [Latino cultural identity] isn’t explicitly talked about, however the visuals characteristic individuals who look identifiably Latino – usually brown-skinned people with voiceovers in accented English.”
“It is a refined technique to sign that these advertisements are focused at Latinos. I really want they included voices with and with out accents to additional mirror range.”
Varela identified that “the marketing campaign is shifting to recognise it’s about regional range”. He additionally highlighted Harris’s “alternative financial system” plan, which appeals to Latinos by emphasising pragmatic financial development, by way of job creation, small enterprise assist, and reasonably priced housing, particularly in underserved communities.
“Harris positions herself as a ‘pragmatic capitalist’,” he defined, noting that Latinos are reshaping the US financial system, contributing $3.6 trillion to the gross home product (GDP). This affect is pushed by excessive charges of entrepreneurship, labour drive participation, and important roles in sectors like manufacturing, retail, and development, although illustration points persist.
A politically unbiased era
Analysts agree that campaigns are more and more leveraging social media to succeed in a brand new era of Latino voters, who might now not see themselves as outlined solely by their Latinidad.
These various views are amplified by Latino influencers, some aligning with Harris, others with Trump, every reflecting a spectrum of political allegiances.
“There’s additionally a rising motion amongst younger Latinos figuring out as politically unbiased,” famous Varela, that has usually been overshadowed by conventional celebration narratives.
Now, extra younger Latino voters are reasserting this stance, demanding a political illustration that speaks to their distinctive experiences and values.
“Latinos are now not confined to Democrat or Republican labels,” Varela concludes. “This politically unbiased motion is not only asking for recognition—it’s reshaping the boundaries of American politics.”
