CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — According to an NBC exit poll, the number of Latinos who voted for Donald Trump increased by 25% from the 2020 election. How did he accomplish this? KRIS6 News spoke with Hispanic Trump voters and State Senator-Elect for District 27, Adam Hinojosa, to find out.
Grex Rivera is one of the millions of Hispanic voters who turned out in large numbers for President-elect Donald Trump, as many Latino men aligned with Trump’s policies.
“We are conservative, whether I am a male, or females out there that are Hispanic as well, we hold values. And those are conservative values," Rivera said.
Andrew Parra, another Trump supporter, explained that border security was a major concern.
“I think open border was huge. The amount of crime that was coming in. People being told to identify with that just because they were Hispanic," Parra said other issues that resonated with Latinos who supported Trump. "When you can’t afford your groceries, all the immigration, all that stuff, they just say forget it, I can’t afford to live right now."
Inflation, identified as a top concern for Latinos in a Unidos U.S. poll, aligned with the sentiments expressed by both Rivera and Parra.
Rivera believed that economic dissatisfaction played a role in swaying Latino voters toward the Republican Party.
"I believe because we are tired of the economy being a laughing stock. It was necessary that the Republican Party captured our vote," he said.
The last significant Latino turnout for a GOP candidate was in 2004 for George W. Bush.
Parra added that cultural identity also played a part, particularly for Hispanic men who value traditional roles.
"There’s a lot of Hispanic men who identify with the machismo thing, and that’s often denigrated and called toxic," he said. "But at the end of the day, a lot of these men want to lead a family, they want to own a home, they want to take care of the people around them."
In addition to Trump’s widespread support among Latinos, the Coastal Bend saw a significant political shift with Republican Adam Hinojosa’s victory in the State Senate District 27 race, where he defeated Morgan LaMantia.
Hinojosa attributed part of his success to the region’s religious values.
"There’s a high number of Hispanic Catholic, Christian voters, and being pro-life was certainly on the ballot in favor of our campaign. It transcends all of South Texas. There’s a lot of pro-life voters," Hinojosa said.
The Hispanic vote in Texas has traditionally leaned Democratic, but State Senator-Elect Adam Hinojosa believes the number of conservative Hispanic voters will continue to grow in the coming years, but he looks forward to serving all of District 27.
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