Last month, we launched a new series, Hombre: Understanding Latino Men, to dig deeper into the reasons that moved Latino men overall more right in the 2024 presidential election. We want to understand what this political shift really looks like for the everyday Latino male voter. What shaped Latino men’s vote on a personal level?
So on today’s episode of Latino USA, host Maria Hinojosa sits down with two young hombres latinos from Texas who have opposite political views, to understand the motivations behind their electoral decisions.
Read the episode transcript here.
Alejandro Flores and Alexis Uscanga are both Mexican-American and come from similar socioeconomic backgrounds. But in 2024, Alejandro, who’s 31 from Dallas, voted for Kamala Harris. Alexis, a 21-year-old student from the Rio Grande Valley, voted for the first time in 2024 and chose Donald Trump.
Overall, Mexican-Americans, like Alejandro and Alexis, still lean more Democratic than other Latino subgroups, such as Cuban voters, who tilt Republican. But in 2024, Trump made pretty significant strides within this demographic compared to just four years ago.
This shift was particularly striking in the Rio Grande Valley, where all four counties flipped red. That’s including Alexis’ hometown: Cameron County, which went red for the first time in 20 years. For Alexis and his family, the economy was the main reason they voted for Trump.
“There were so many people that were impacted, especially living here in such a low socioeconomic region,” Alexis told Latino USA. “It’s the economy.”
For Alejandro, issues like healthcare were top of mind for him as he cast a ballot. He was motivated by Harris’ proposals to lower the cost of prescription medication.
“That’s aligned to my needs as a person who’s hard of hearing,” he said. “And as someone who grew up with not a lot of healthcare, because our parents didn’t really have access to that, so therefore, I wasn’t given much access to it either.”
Featured collage by Luis Luna. (Photos by AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
Produced by Nour Saudi and edited by Andrea López-Cruzado. It was mixed by Julia Caruso.
While I appreciated hearing this story. Regarding this topic, I would also appreciate hearing views from Latino men who are from other than Mexican backgrounds. After all, even though the majority of Latino men in the USA are of Mexican heritage, other Latino males would provide a more diverse view and better understanding of why Latino men voted the way they did during this past presidential election. Gracias – Rafael
Hi Rafael, this is a good point! Our mission is to gather as many views from all Latino cultures as possible. Our editorial has read your message and will have this top of mind.
Hi. Today your broadcast about understanding Latino men started and stopped with trump supporter. Maybe I heard wrong? And there was no mention that the economy was due to the pandemic. ? I would have liked to have heard some mention of that.
Hi Ruth, thank you for this constructive feedback. The editorial team is aware about your message!
Thank you for this episode! I am an African American male. However I listen to your show every opportunity that I get. I want to know what my brothers and sisters are thinking about during this very unique time in our government and history. This was a very well conducted interview. I could tell that the persons in the interview felt comfortable in talking to you and being open with you about their views without fear of attack or persecution. This is exactly the type of speech and conversation that we need in our country at this time. Kudos to you, Maria! Thank you for Latino USA and all the work that you’re doing to help us all live together in a peaceful and respectful way
Hi Rod, thank you for taking the time to write to us. These kind of messages really motivate us and reaffirm our commitment to our audience and really anybody who is willing to listen to us!