Latino Organizations Respond to 2024 Election Results

It’s been less than two days since Donald Trump was elected the 47th President of the United States, and several Latino organizations have issued statements about Trump’s performance with Latino voters, which, if national exit polls were the indication, would be the highest support of a Republican candidate since 2004.

Here are the statements The Latino Newsletter has received over the last day.

The following is from Janet Murguía of UnidosUS: “While the dust is still settling on how Latinos actually voted in this election, it's clear that our community is primarily concerned with the economy and the same pocketbook issues as other Americans, such as the rising costs of food, housing and other essentials. Deep concerns with inflation and making ends meet almost singularly drove how Hispanics voted in this election. More to come on this and other priorities reflected in the Latino vote when we release our 2024 American Electorate Poll. Stay tuned.”

Initially, the press call for the 2024 American Electorate Poll was scheduled for the day after the election. It has now been moved to November 12. The Latino Newsletter plans to attend that call.

Frankie Miranda of Hispanic Federation shared this statement on Wednesday:

We also received this statement from the co-founders of polling firm Equis Research, former Obama staffers Stephanie Valencia and Carlos Odio:

“We are gravely concerned about the conversation and rhetoric surrounding Latino voters. What happened in this election is larger than Hispanics alone. Last night’s results signal a need to contend with the reality of Latino voters. But there is much getting lost in the conversation that is critical for the press and both parties to clearly understand. 

The magnitude of the gains Trump made in places like New York, New Jersey, and Texas —states that don't decide the presidential race— were surprising and point to deeper discontent and broader trends. 

But the support Trump received among Latinos in the battleground states should not have been a surprise to anyone who was paying attention. Those shifts were present in polling throughout the cycle and since the early days of the Biden presidency. Harris ultimately had the support she needed with Latinos to win, if all else held according to plan. 

Yes, Trump did make big gains with Latinos, but those gains are not what decided his victory. What happened in this election is larger than Latinos - Trump’s win came from a broader erosion of support in key battleground states. Latinos in the battleground states are a critical part of winning but they do not alone determine the outcome. 

Blaming the outcome of this election on the Hispanic electorate is simply not supported by the electoral math in the Blue Wall states. To say otherwise is not only irresponsible, it is bad political analysis.

Republicans similarly should not take the wrong lessons from this. Trump should not misread any gains in Latino votes as support for his full agenda—in fact quite the opposite. The Latinos who did move to Trump were clear: they want him to bring down prices. They rejected Project 2025, and told us repeatedly in focus groups and polling that they didn't believe he would do any of the things his opponents said he would, from banning abortion to repealing Obamacare to deporting long-term immigrants like Dreamers. They voted for Trump because they believed he would prioritize the economy over all else, just as they did in voting for him. He resonated with working Latinos who believed he would help them care for their families. If there is a mandate, it is that: to focus on the economy and bring down prices. And that’s what these voters are going to hold him to.

All in all, this moment also calls for a reckoning among the Democrats and those who claim to represent the interests of the Latino community, men across race, and the working class. We need to be clear-eyed about the economic and cultural divide that led some Latinos to Trump. Any blame should be pointed at elites, not at the voters themselves who weren’t being listened to until it was too late.

Latinos have proved they are and will continue to be a true wildcard in our politics. What happened in this election does not come to pass without years of neglect that finally came to a head. There is time to fix it, if there is the will and a new era of leadership to move us forward.”

The Equis statement also included this:

Other key data points: 

• Most Latinos, including most Latino men in most battleground states, voted against this reality. In particular, Latinas, like many other women, voted to protect each other’s freedoms and turn the page from the madness of the Trump era. And they’re going to face some of the worst consequences. 

• You only need to look at Hispanic support for Ruben Gallego in Arizona, and other down-ballot Democrats, to know that shifts among Latinos were about Donald Trump —not about Republicans— and that the GOP cannot assume they are guaranteed these levels of support going forward. 

What We’re Reading

Latinos and Democrats: This lede by POLITICO is perhaps the most accurate sentence of the last few days: “Democrats are finally conceding they have a Latino voter problem.”

Editor’s Note: The Latino Newsletter was a ‘La Voz de Mi Gente 2024’ grantee from the Hispanic Federation for the sole purpose of filing stories about Latino voter awareness in the 2024 election cycle. All stories published for the ‘La Voz de Mi Gente 2024’ series or that mention the Hispanic Federation were independently determined by The Latino Newsletter and its publisher, Julio Ricardo Varela. The Latino Newsletter operates with full editorial independence and creates strong firewalls, ensuring that all stories are produced solely at the discretion of its team, free from all external influence.

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