Demographics in 500 Words
Latinos
Latinos have been a target of both campaigns as a demographic that each team believed they could win over. Latinos are very diverse when it comes to country of origins and ethnicities , geography and socio-economic background but also share very diverse ideology. Latinos make up 18.7% or 62.1 million people according to the 2020 census a demographic group that can easily shift a candidate one way or another making them major targets but the Latino vote has been misunderstood and often looked at swing voters willing to go both ways. Exit polls have suggested that Donald Trump achieved a record share of Latino voters but with Harris still winning the demographic overall. CNN exit polls revealed a large shift of every group of Latinos to Trump in the breakdown Trump have won 50% of Hispanic men and 38% of Hispanic women showing a gender divide seen in the overall voting data across races. The divide by the age shows a interesting difference in voting patterns from young and older Hispanics. Hispanics aged 18-29 split 51-45 for Harris a massive shift from 69-28 for Biden. Older Hispanics aged 65+ have voted for Harris by the largest amount by age group 58-41 however still a slight shift to Trump. When divided by income Hispanics who made less than 50k and ones who make over 100k have voted for Trump another massive shift from 2020. The Trump strategy has found another way to appeal to Latino voters is by treating them as any other voter Garza a resident of McAllen, Texas have said to WSJ “ I feel strongly that this is sort of the working class rejecting current political class who haven’t recognized what the effect of the economy was on their pocketbooks” (Hernández, Alicia. "Trump Looks to Latino Voters to Secure Victory in 2024 Election." The Wall Street Journal, 19 Nov. 2024, https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/trump-latino-voters-election-2024-f588791b.). Trump was able to capitalize on his economic message that appealed to various demographics including Hispanics. Pew Research Center survey of Latinos have found that 80% are very concerned about the economy for many Latinos the economy was a bigger issue compared to Trumps language and immigration policy. The Harris team has made a major bet that the issue of immigration can help turn away Hispanics from Trump this strategy has ended up failing because of the changing attitudes among Latino voters on immigration. The election results in the Rio Grande a area in Texas that borders Mexico. The most notable shift is within Latino Males with most exit polls having this demographic. Brookings did a deep dive into this sub-group they have noted a notable shift. Support was the strongest among Latino men below the age of 40. Despite the poor performance for the Democrats they have the opportunity to earn these voters back especially with a economic and immigration message that resonates with voters “ Driven by economic concerns , Latino men particularly young Latino men , were more likely vote for former President Donald Trump in 2024” (Sanchez, Gabriel R. A Deep Dive into the 2024 Latino Male Electorate. Brookings Institution, 22 Nov. 2024.). The 2024 election showed the complexity and the diversity of the Latino vote. While Trump has made a lot of gains there was not a single issue that caused a massive shift within the community however traditional economic concerns have triumphed over immigration concerns. The major tips I suggest for the democrats is to change the message that can resonate with voters and treat Hispanics as any other demographic since they face the same issues as any other group.
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