Democrats Are Losing Hispanic Voters. Republicans Need To Reach Them.

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Vince Dao's Instagram story

There's a new trend of Hispanics and Latinos leaning more right. There have been many cases where we have seen this happen. The Left is bewildered by these numbers, as they have believed they held the ground on minorities. What does this mean for Republicans? They need to focus on winning Hispanic voters, as we are seeing a shift from Hispanic voters unlike anything we've seen before.

People began to notice the different trend in Latino/Hispanic voters after the mayoral race in McAllen, Texas. The city is about 85% Hispanic or Latino, and has voted for Democrats since 1997. Surprisingly, the city voted for a Republican this year, breaking an almost 25-year streak. Most mayoral races get little coverage, but seeing how this race was overwhelmingly won by a Republican, in a city of Hispanic/Latino majority, this shakes things up. 

Interestingly, the city of McAllen supported Hillary Clinton by 40-points over Donald Trump in 2016. Come 2020, Trump cut that 40-point margin by more than half. Trump earned almost 50% of the Hispanic vote in Florida in 2020, a 10-point increase from 2016. In an article from NBC, a Miami-based Democratic pollster said Trump made significant gains among Colombians, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans, compared to Republican candidates in the previous 3 elections. Miami-Dade County is normally deep blue, but became a more purple area in 2020. Two representatives in that county lost their seats to Republicans.

Cuban Americans are also normally Democratic voters, but Trump managed to reach them. Of course it wasn't hard when the opposing side is pushing for ideologies Fidel Castro would be proud of. Also, prayers up for the freedom fighters in Cuba. #SOSCuba

How were Republicans able to gain so much of the Hispanic vote? The same NBC Miami pollster stated, "Democrats allowed Republicans to paint Democrats as socialists and communists like Chávez and Castro." That's correct, and many Hispanic/Latino voters saw this. Many saw that Biden and his administration will bring what many escaped from: socialism and Communism. Therefore, they voted for the man who was 100% prepared to fight that. Hispanic voters see through Democrats' lies, and that's why they're voting Republican. Look at the trends from 2016 to 2020. 

Donald Trump swung a lot of Hispanic voters over because of his policies. Pedro Gonzalez, during an interview with Tucker Carlson Tonight, said that "Most Hispanic and Latino voters don't support with illegal immigration, the attacks from BLM/Antifa, drag queen story hour, or defunding the police." Trump's messaging of "Build the wall" or "Stop illegal immigration," I believe, resonated with Hispanic/Latino voters. 

Even the "Latinx" thing is a mockery of their culture. I see many Latinos post "There's no such thing as Latinx. It's Latino or Latina." I'd be offended if someone made a mockery of my culture too. The term isn't even used by many Latinos or Hispanics. In a 2019 Pew Research study, "only 23% of U.S. adults who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino have heard of the term Latinx, and just 3% say they use it to describe themselves." 

I came across an article shared by one of my favorite accounts on Instagram, Informed With Anthony, entitled "Dear Democrats, We Are Not ‘Latinx'.'" The author explains that most Hispanic Americans are socially conservative, and don't like the idea that straight people are the enemy of the LGBT community as Democrats say. 

"Latinos are entrepreneurs, hardworking, and they want to get ahead; those are their main concerns, not meaningless discussions about changing the language." She also includes, "The Latinx thing is one more sign of the disconnection with reality and the arrogance of the progressive movements."

Democrats don't seem to accept that most Hispanics aren't in favor of their policies. Unfortunately, Republicans don't want to seize the opportunity presented. They are content that 40% of Hispanics vote for them because "ThE LeFt CaNnOt CaLL uS RaCiSt WiTh ThOsE NuMbErS." This is why in 2022, we need leaders who will actually fight.

I have shared that my parents came from a socialist country, and if nothing else could convince them to NOT vote for Democrats, it's the socialist-like policies Democrats support. The same goes for many Hispanics and Latino voters.

Republicans need to go where they have a chance of winning. That means dropping the conservative identity politics. You may not like hearing this, but anything I have shared is the truth. Republicans chasing the LGBT+ or black vote is a waste of time. I'm certainly not saying to ignore this demographic, but looking at it strategically, wouldn't it make more sense to gain a potential 55% margin in Hispanic or Latino voters, rather than a less than 5% chance with the black and LGBT+ vote combined? Again, Trump played identity politics and ignored who his true base is. Why not reach the base that holds many of your values?

If Republicans already gained significant ground with Hispanic voters without doing a thing, imagine how much better things would be if they actually tried? And stop with the identity politics! Does the GOP not see how identity politics is losing voters from the Left? We have the ability to gain more voters with Hispanics. Identity politics pushes people away. Clearly, Hispanics hold more conservative/Republican values. Republicans need to show these values in their messaging.