A Q&A About Latino Republicans

Many people have been surprised by the shift of Latino voters toward the Republican Party. It has happened during the same decade that Donald Trump took over the party, and Trump often derides immigrants, including Latinos. Nevertheless, Latino support for Republicans has risen:

I have been talking with my colleague Jennifer Medina about these developments, and I want to share our exchange with you. Jennifer, a politics reporter based in Southern California, is writing a book about Latino political identity.

David: You’ve spent a lot of time traveling the country and talking to voters. Why do more Latino voters find Trump appealing?

Jennifer: There is no one simple profile. For a lot of these voters, there is a gut sense that the economy was better before the pandemic — and a perception that Trump has business acumen. Some are also repulsed by anything that they believe approaches socialism, like universal health care or college loan forgiveness.

For others, it is about religious values, including opposition to abortion. Then there is immigration: Many children and grandchildren of immigrants are repelled by what they see as the current chaos — people crossing illegally and being allowed to stay, people they believe are unfairly seeking asylum and so on.

Some voters simply delight in Trump’s willingness to skewer liberals and view him as the most entertaining politician in their lifetime. There is a kind of rebel factor: Many of these voters are the children of lifelong Democrats. They find Trump’s anti-establishment energy subversive and appealing.

Some people think this shift is about assimilation — that these voters are moving toward Republicans because they are becoming part of the white, non-Hispanic mainstream. Based on conversations with hundreds of these voters, I do not think it’s that simple.