Kamala Harris is facing a critical challenge in Pennsylvania, where her performance with the state's 580,000 registered Latino voters could sway the largest battleground state in the 2024 election. Latino political and business leaders have privately warned Harris' campaign that outreach to Latino voters, especially men, is lacking. Despite Harris' broader appeal to voters of color, concerns persist about her traction with the group, increasingly drawn to Donald Trump.
Recent polling shows a long-term erosion in Democratic support among Latino voters nationwide, including in swing states like Nevada and Arizona. Pennsylvania is no exception, and even modest gains by Trump with Latino men could impact the results. While Harris is expected to secure a majority of Latino votes in Pennsylvania, the narrowing gap is a reason for concern in the Harris campaign.
Victor Martinez, a Pennsylvania-based Spanish-language radio host and pro-Harris advocate, noted that Trump's "macho persona" has resonated with Latino men, according to a report by Politico.
The Harris campaign has invested heavily in outreach, spending nearly $2 million on Spanish-language ads in Pennsylvania. In contrast, the Trump campaign has spent just $175,000 on similar efforts. Despite this disparity, Republican strategists believe more could be done to court Latino voters, especially through increased spending on ads and staff dedicated to Latino outreach.
Trump's campaign, however, maintains that their message on issues like inflation and high prices appeals to all communities, including Latinos. Jaime Florez, the Trump campaign's Hispanic communications director, stated that there's no need for specific offices targeting particular communities.
Harris' campaign highlights its ongoing outreach efforts, including events and targeted advertising, and sees the final stretch as an opportunity to sway undecided Latino voters. Nationally, some polls show Harris maintaining support similar to Joe Biden's in 2020, while others indicate a decline.
Polls by USA TODAY/Suffolk University indicate that while Kamala Harris leads among Latino voters in swing states like Arizona and Nevada, she is struggling with young Latino men nationally.
51% of Latino men aged 18-34 in Arizona back Trump compared to 39% for Harris, while in Nevada, 53% favor Trump and 40% support Harris, the survey shows. Conversely, Harris enjoys significant support from Latina women of all ages in both states, a demographic crucial to her campaign as they comprise 21% of registered women voters in Arizona and 22% in Nevada.
Despite her emphasis on reproductive rights, young Latino men appear more focused on economic issues, an area where Harris has struggled to connect with voters. This dynamic mirrors the challenges she faces in Pennsylvania, where engaging Latino men is critical for her electoral success
In light of this concerning trend, Harris' campaign has launched "Hombres con Harris," an initiative specifically designed to mobilize Latino men in battleground states ahead of the November 5 election.
To kick off the initiative, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Harris' running mate, will hold a rally in Phoenix, Arizona, alongside Congressman Rubén Gallego, an Iraq War veteran who is running for one of Arizona's Senate seats. Mexican actor Jaime Camil, known for his roles in telenovelas and the U.S. series "Jane the Virgin", will also participate in the event.
The "Hombres con Harris" initiative will hold events in various cities across key states, including Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma, Nogales in Arizona; Sparks, Reno and Las Vegas in Nevada. The initiative will also focus on Pennsylvania, targeting areas with significant Latino populations, such as Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley, where Allentown's population is 54% Latino.
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