How Latino voters influenced national races during midterms

Deisy Espana with Voces de la Frontera hands a pamphlet to Danny Sanchez, his aunt Maria Sanchez, and his nephew Thiago Torres — as she goes door-to-door encouraging Latinos to vote, Oct. 6, 2022, Milwaukee. Photo credit: Ebony Cox / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters.

Heading into Tuesday’s election, there were big questions around whether Democrats were losing support from Latino voters, especially in key states like Nevada, Texas, Florida, and Arizona. Historically, most Latinos voted for Democrats, and they still do. But in recent years, Republicans started cutting into those margins. It remains to be seen whether Latinos will stick with Democrats going forward — or move closer to the GOP. 

“As it relates to Latino voters, a lot of the polling going into this election show that they … cared about the economy, were worried about inflation, and were worried about jobs,” says Sonja Diaz, director of the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute. “Now the Democrats really focused on the Supreme Court and women's bodily autonomy, which was important and also an important issue for Latino voters, but not the most important issue."

Credits

Guest:

  • Sonja Diaz - director of the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute