The Latino Vote: Profiling America’s Changing Electorate
First in a Series Ahead of the 2026 Midterms
The Latino Vote: Profiling America’s Changing Electorate
Latinos, the second-largest group of voters in America, helped Donald Trump win the presidency in 2024 by giving him increased — though not majority — support across virtually every segment of the community. The shift prompted predictions of a “historic realignment.”
Almost two years later, that realignment has not materialized. Poll after poll indicates that Latino support for Trump has fallen significantly, driven by concerns over the cost of living, the economy and the excesses of immigration enforcement.
Does that mean Democrats can count on those voters? Not necessarily, say experts, who increasingly describe Latinos as a new “swing vote.” Recent elections have also raised another question: Are some Latino voters gravitating toward the more populist left-wing alternatives emerging within the Democratic Party? Yes, but others resist that shift or remain politically unsettled.
American Community Media invites you to the first in a series of national media briefings that will profile America’s changing electorate ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
- Mike Madrid, Republican political strategist, author of The Latino Century and co-founder of the Lincoln Project
- María Isabel Di Franco Quiñonez, Senior Research Director, Equis Research
- Eli Valentin, Assistant Dean of Graduate and Leadership Studies at the W. Frankly Richardson Graduate Center, Virginia Union University, and author of Politicking in the Barrio
- Clarissa Martínez De Castro, Vice President of the Latino Vote Initiative at UnidosUS
