This photo combination shows Vice President Kamala Harris (left) on August 7, 2024, and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump on July 31, 2024.
AP
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris toured the Southwest this week in an effort to drum up Latino votes with just five days left until Election Day.
According to , Latino voters make up 14.7% of the total electorate in the upcoming election. Pew Research Center. New Mexico, where President Trump campaigned on Thursday, has the highest percentage of Latino voters at about 45% of the population. States with the next highest percentages of Latino voters include California, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada. California is definitely blue, Texas is definitely red, but Arizona and Nevada, where Harris held rallies, are battleground states.
Democrats have historically had an advantage among Latino voters, but a September NBC News/Telemundo/CNBC national poll found that their advantage has increased over the past four elections, especially as President Trump continues to advance. The number is said to have declined after the presidential election. latino male. Experts say one of the big reasons behind this is inflation and the cost of living crisis, two issues on which voters tend to trust Trump more than Harris.
“I’m here for a simple reason: I like you very much and it’s good for my credentials in the Hispanic and Latino community,” President Trump told an audience in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Thursday. He asked them not to attend. “I’m wasting half a day here.”
The state leans blue. In 2020, President Joe Biden won by 10.8 points, and in 2016, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won by 8.3 points. But Trump thinks he can change that.
President Trump said of the results of the presidential elections in New Mexico in 2020 and 2016, “We came close to winning twice. I’ll tell you, I believe we won twice,” saying indicated that he believed it was fraudulent. We can win state this year.
“One of the biggest reasons we’re going to win this state is that we have the worst border problem of any state in America, and I know how to fix it,” Trump said. Only,” he said.
However, Trump’s campaign said last week that comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s racist comments about Latinos at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally led to a rift among Latino voters. He also finds himself mired in controversy that could weaken his support.
Hinchcliffe joked that Latinos “love to have babies” and called Puerto Rico “Floating Island of Garbage” And while campaign officials quickly distanced President Trump from those remarks, the former president himself has yet to personally apologize for them.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a roundtable discussion with Latino advocates at the Arizona Grand Resort & Spa in Phoenix, Arizona, on September 14, 2020.
Brendan Smialowski AFP | Getty Images
President Trump’s speech in New Mexico largely focused on immigration and border security, but a recent CNBC poll found the issue ranked second to Latino voters after inflation, jobs and threats to democracy. It was rated only the fourth most important area of concern. Still, polls show that more Latinos think immigrants help the country than hurt it. However, the ratio was the lowest since 2006.
Meanwhile, Harris held three rallies in Phoenix, Arizona, Reno, Nevada and Las Vegas, where she pitched voters on the economy and criticized President Trump’s stance on immigration.
“With five days left in the campaign, my opponent is making his final argument against America, a debate filled with hate and division,” Harris told an audience in Phoenix. “He insults Latinos and scapegoats immigrants, but it’s not just what he says, it’s what he will do if elected. He is wrong to bring back family separation policies. No, but the scale is much larger than last time.”
Democratic presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Jennifer Lopez attend a campaign rally in North Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on October 31, 2024.
David Swanson | Reuters
Harris also invited Latin musicians on Thursday, specifically singer Jennifer Lopez from Las Vegas, Nevada. López appealed to immigrant and Latino voters by highlighting his Puerto Rican heritage when introducing his vice president.
”[Trump] It has consistently worked to divide us. At Madison Square Garden, he reminded us of who he really is and how he really feels. “It wasn’t just Puerto Ricans who were offended that day, it was all Latinos in this country,” Lopez said.
Both campaigns are ramping up outreach to Latino voters as November 5 approaches. Events hosted by President Trump last week round table In Florida, with Latino business leaders. telemundo A pre-recorded interview with Harris was broadcast.
