SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Millions of Latino voters helped shape the outcome of key midterm races across the country, influencing some of the nation’s most competitive congressional contests and contributing to what is expected to be the largest Congressional Hispanic Caucus in history.
Experts said the economy, including high gas and grocery prices, as well as immigration enforcement and deportation policies, were among the issues that drove Latino voters to the polls.
“This will undoubtedly be the largest turnout of Latino voters ever in a Midterm election,” said Janet Murguía, president and CEO of UnidosUS.
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Latino voters helped shape Tuesday’s midterm elections, influencing races nationwide. The elections also resulted in California and Texas, the nation’s two largest states, being led by Latino governors.
In California, Democrat Xavier Becerra defeated Republican Steve Hilton to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom.
In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican incumbent Greg Abbott. Hinojosa became the state’s first Latina governor and the first Democrat elected to the office in more than 30 years.
Christian Arana of the Latino Community Foundation said Latino voters were motivated by issues affecting their daily lives.
“We showed up, and we made it very clear that we are upset about the economy. We’re upset about how our immigration policies are treating our community,” Arana said.
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Political analyst and author Mike Madrid said Latino voters remain one of the nation’s most influential voting blocs because they are less tied to major political parties.
“We are really the last true swing voters in American politics,” Madrid said.
Madrid said Latino voters are more likely to identify as independent and less likely to align strongly with either major party.
“We again, are the most likely to be independent. We are the least partisan, and for better or for worse, we have an equal distaste for the political parties. There is no love lost for the Democrat or Republican party,” Madrid said.
Analysts said that dynamic could make Latino voters even more important in the next presidential election.
“We are the truest swing vote out there in this country. And so if I’m someone looking to run for president this morning, I would call my advisors and ask them, what am I going to do to win over the Latino vote this coming 2028,” Arana said.
UC Berkeley professor Lisa Garcia Bedolla said voter turnout among Latinos is often a key part of the political story, noting that Latino voters turned out for this election.
“It’s important to note that who stays home among Latino voters is always an important part of the story, because such a large proportion of Latino eligible voters tend to stay home, particularly during midterm elections,” Bedolla said.
She pointed to the 2022 election and added: “It’s not to say that there wasn’t resonance from Candidate Trump in the Latino community in terms of his messages in 2024. There definitely was, but it was also a matter of the fact that the Democratic-leaning Latinos, particularly the ones that might have supported Kamala Harris, chose not to vote or weren’t excited about voting. And so they had just as important an impact on the outcome as the ones who voted.”
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