Nearly one in five voters in Nevada is Hispanic, meaning Latino voters have the power to make or break a candidate this year.
But what issues will drive Latinos to the polls? How might they vote?
UnidosUS (formerly the National Council of La Raza) is attempting to answer those questions. It recently released polling results that looked at the issues important to Latino voters ahead of the 2024 general election: inflation and cost of living ranked highest, followed by jobs and the economy.
Clarissa Martinez De Castro is the vice president of the nonprofit's Latino Vote Initiative. She said that Latino voters' priorities, historically, have been and continue to be economy related.
"Economic issues, particularly jobs and wages, have always been top of mind — if not the top priority," Martinez De Castro said. "The number two priority right now, the thing that is growing even more intensely, is the cost of housing, whether to rent or to own."
UnidosUS similarly found immigration to be an issue Latino voters are keeping a close eye on.
"It's not traditionally at the very top," she noted. "But, it has been, particularly when the bait around immigration intensifies: For example, in November of 2023 — a year out from the election — immigration was ranked at number six in terms of top priorities, perhaps not surprisingly, given the intensity of the debate, and particularly the vitriol around this issue, it has been rising as a concern for Latino voters. And indeed, we are seeing it now at number three nationally, and a little higher in a couple of states."
Within the immigration debate, Latino voters are cleaving to party lines.
"One thing that is emerging," Martinez De Castro said, "is that for those Latinos who are more hardcore Republican, border security is a higher priority than for their fellow Latinos writ large."
Overall, the Latino community just wants to feel heard by candidates, like every other voter.
"We have said for many years that candidates matter," she said, "their positions matter, but meaningful outreach is essential. And one of the things Republicans are finally doing is trying to get out there and talk to these voters. So, the message is the message any voter would have: If you want my vote, come and talk to me. And that is the message from Latino voters to both parties."
Guest: Clarissa Martinez De Castro, vice president of the Latino Vote Initiative, UnidosUS
