Much of the media’s focus after the 2024 presidential election centered on one particular group of voters: Latinos. Actually, more specifically, Latino men. Many of the immediate takeaways on television after election night cast blame on Latino men for “shifting to the right” and costing the Democrats and Kamala Harris their loss. But are Latino men really to blame? What is really at the root of their shift to the Republican Party? And as Donald Trump gets ready to take office once again, what do Latino men’s voting preferences signal about the future of the political landscape in the United States?
Here at Latino USA, we’re aiming to answer these questions with a new series, premiering today. Hombre: Understanding Latino Men features different and nuanced conversations with a diverse group of hombres latinos (because we know they’re not all the same) that will deepen our understanding of what Latino manhood in the U.S. looks like at this moment.
We start with one person who not only knows all about what it’s like to be a Latino man in this country, but all about politics as well. In this episode, Maria Hinojosa sits down with political consultant and Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha, to unpack what happened in the 2024 election and why the Democratic Party failed to reach Latino male voters.
Chuck is a self-proclaimed “man’s man,” and according to him, that means he’s crazy about fishing, hunting and his family. Growing up in Middle-of-Nowhere, East Texas, he got his start in politics through union organizing while working at a factory. Decades later, in 2010, he founded Solidarity Strategies, one of the largest Latino-owned political consulting firms in the country.
Chuck is perhaps best known for his work on both of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaigns, but particularly in 2020, where he was able to make a huge impact with “Tío Bernie’s” outreach to Latino voters. It’s here that he makes the connections between the left-leaning candidate, incoming president Trump, and their appeal to Latino men.
“We talked about keeping jobs in America, revitalizing manufacturing, not funding foreign wars,” said Chuck. “That sounds like Donald Trump.”
In the interview, Chuck shares stories of his childhood, growing up in both Latino and white families, being a single parent, and his political trajectory—all experiences which he says shaped his understanding of Latino manhood.
Featured image by Chuck Rocha.
Produced by Nour Saudi with editing by Andrea López-Cruzado. It was mixed by Mark Yoshizumi with engineering support from JJ Querubin.
