Whether you are celebrating or mourning the results of Tuesday’s election, one thing is for certain. The Hispanic vote continues to be an ever-increasing driving force influencing final election outcomes. 

There’s Strength in Numbers

According to the U.S. Census, the Hispanic population in the United States grew to 65 million in 2023 – a whopping 19.5 percent of the total U.S. population. With respect to politics, Hispanic voters have grown at the second fastest rate of all major racial and ethnic groups in America since the 2020 presidential election. The Pew Research Center reports that over 36 million Hispanic Americans were eligible to vote this year compared to 32.3 million in the last major election and 27 million in 2016. The continually growing number is already enough for the Hispanic vote to sway an election one way or another, as was evident in the Tuesday matchup.

The Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, finished with a slight majority of support from Hispanic voters at 53 percent as compared to Trump’s 45 percent. This, however, was a record high for a Republican nominee, with a 13 percent increase from 2020, according to NBC News exit polls, surpassing George W. Bush’s 44 percent Hispanic support in 2004.

Whether Democratic or Republican, the question is what is causing Hispanics to be increasingly more engaged in the voting process? Like the lion’s share of Americans, it’s the issues that get people to the polls. For Latino voters in 2024, it has primarily been the U.S. economy and inflation, says the Pew Research Center. Despite record U.S. stock market gains throughout the Biden Administration and the strongest economic recovery of all countries post Covid, just like most Americans, Hispanics have felt the squeeze of the high cost of living from groceries to gas to housing. As is customary, voters more often believe the presiding administration is responsible. 

This has motivated the Hispanic vote to act. While historically more Hispanics vote Democrat, many have felt it's time to shift to the right. That move surely contributed to a Republican win on Tuesday. 

“We’re finding our voice can make a difference,” says Belinda Gonzales, a registered nurse and Hayward resident. “I’ll admit, I haven’t always voted but life has been such a struggle financially, I felt maybe it’s time to participate.”

While the economy has been a serious factor in increasing the Hispanic vote, the subject of immigration is a close second. It has been a longstanding concern for Latinos over the decades, though the underlying reasons have evolved over time. Paula Ramos, MSNBC contributor and the author of “The Rise of the Latino Far Right and What It Means for America,” has extensively reported on what motivates the Latino vote. She says it seems the shift is because “we” have, to some degree, changed as a people. 

“Who we are now is vastly different from who we were 20, 30 years ago,” says Ramos, based on her field research. “The solidarity revolved around our immigrant story back in the George W. Bush years. Right now, so many Latinos feel more American and maybe more detached from their immigrant roots.” The Pew Research Center reports that over ten million Hispanics considered themselves “white” in a 2022 study. 

This may have resulted in some Hispanics becoming more passionately aligned over the years with the Republican immigrant ideology of stricter border security or even closed borders in an effort to protect what they feel is now theirs, thus possibly influencing an increased presence at the polls, says Ramos.

“We Latinos are very family oriented,” says Tlaca Hernandez, Tri-Valley barber shop owner. “I’m a Republican because I'm traditional and I don’t really agree with the Democrat’s ‘woke’ agenda. People can do whatever they want, but stop telling me I have to like it.” Yet another possible reason for many Latinos leaning right. 

A larger resonating issue for more Latino involvement in the political process, however, seems to be that the Hispanic population has felt largely unseen by both political parties, and feel mostly taken for granted by the Democratic party. Political consultant Mike Madrid, is the author of the book “The Latino Century: How America’s Largest Minority is Transforming Democracy.” 

“Democrats are simply not persuading Latinos to go with them,” he writes. This should be a house on-fire urgency, but Democrats in the mainstream don’t seem moved to respond to their defection.” Still, the Hispanic vote did favor the Democratic candidate on Tuesday, albeit by a slimmer margin than in previous elections.

Regardless of party preferences, this feeling of abandonment has motivated many individuals in this rapidly growing group to rally behind issues that matter to them and demand to be seen and heard. What better way than to vote.  

As an average of 1.4 million Hispanics in the U.S. become eligible to vote each year, they continue to wield their potential power by engaging in the voting process to support what ultimately affects their everyday lives. 

Both political parties might do well to take heed and start listening. ¡Ya vienen mas!