As the 2024 presidential race heats up, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are using starkly different tactics to win the critical Latino vote, a demographic projected to decide the outcome of the election.
Trump, who has consistently had difficulty winning Latino voters, is doubling down on his immigration policies, appealing to conservative Latino voters, particularly in such battleground states as Florida and Texas. He highlights border security, in which he believes an aspect of the Latino community finds substantial.
During a rally last month, he read out his stance on curtailing illegal immigration: to ensure American jobs and safety, in which Latinos are included. His campaign is now also seeking to prove how Latinos fared well under his administration in areas such as unemployment and homeownership before the pandemic exploded.
The message of Trump is an appeal to the more conservative Latino groups, such as the Cuban Americans of Florida and the Mexican Americans of Texas, who harbor deep anti-communist sentiment as well as economic conservatism. His campaign has invested heavily in Spanish-language advertising in stressing these themes to chip away at that traditional Democratic support base among Latinos.
By contrast, Harris has focused on inclusivity and taking action to address the longstanding systemic inequities Latino communities face. Harris frequently speaks about immigration reform, which includes a pathway to citizenship and protections for Dreamers. She discusses issues like affordable healthcare, increased education funding, and expanded workers’ rights on the campaign trail; all of these issues have broad support in the Latino community.
Harris is also connecting on a more personal level, consistent with her immigrant experience and attending events among Latino populations. Her campaign has started to launch outreach programs aimed at younger Latino voters who tend to be more progressive and is seemingly in a position to bank on the Democratic Party long-since benefited by support from this demographic.
Harris has also seized several opportunities to condemn Trump’s immigration policies on their merits as sharp-elbowed and painful for Latino families.
While both candidates are seeking Latino support, their differing approaches reflect different visions for the community’s future: one based on law and order, the other in reform and inclusion. The results could be crucial to determining who occupies the White House next.
