Dems try to get back the Hispanic vote

 AMAC:

As the midterms race closer, Republicans appear to be continuing to gain traction with Latino voters, a key constituency in winning control of Congress in 2022. While Democrats initially denied that such a demographic shift was even taking place, they are now in a desperate scramble to salvage their support among Hispanics.

Perhaps the clearest indicator of Democrats’ struggles with Hispanics has been President Joe Biden’s performance with the group. Though Biden won Hispanics 59%-38% in 2020, that represented a net 17-point decline from Hillary Clinton’s 66%-28% margin in 2016. Moreover, Biden’s approval rating with Hispanics is now hovering below 30%, one of his most dismal ratings among any demographic.

A number of polls over the past several months have also found Democrats only slightly ahead of Republicans in terms of support among Hispanic Americans, a dramatic shift after decades of Democratic candidates reliably earning anywhere from 60-80% of the Latino vote. Though Republicans aren’t likely to win a majority of the Hispanic vote in 2022 or even 2024, narrowing the gap to within a few points over just a few years is a drastic change given that such shifts often take decades to occur.

One big reason for Republican gains among Latino voters has been the rise of strong Latino candidates in dozens of races throughout the country. In a Texas border district earlier this year, Republican Mayra Flores, a Mexican immigrant, shocked the political world by flipping a U.S. House District that had been held by a Democrat for more than 100 years. In Virginia, Yesli Vega, the daughter of Salvadoran immigrants, is another potential rising star within the party. Many of these candidates have powerful personal stories of overcoming adversity, and their message of preserving economic opportunity and traditional family values for future generations has resonated with voters of all backgrounds.

Republicans are also increasingly talking to Latino voters about issues that matter most to them – in particular, the economy. Hispanic Americans consistently rank inflation as their top issue heading into November, an ominous sign for Democrats.
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Democrats need a high percentage of the Hispanic and black vote to be competitive and they are losing a significant portion of that vote now.