How Trump made historic gains among Latino voters
Florida International University politics professor Eduardo Gamarra joined ‘America’s Newsroom’ to discuss how Donald Trump was able to bolster his support from Latino voters in the 2024 presidential election.
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Ahead of the 2026 midterms, Televisa Univision President Ignacio Meyer is calling for a revamping of political priorities with the key Latino voting bloc, “a sleeping giant that is no longer sleeping.”
“Hispanic voters are largely sophisticated, are largely independent, and they want to be swayed by issues,” Meyer told Axios publisher Nicholas Johnston on Saturday at a SXSW event in Texas, urging both major political parties to “look at how they’re speaking to Hispanic voters.”
“They do not want to be spoken to about partisan politics.”
With the 2026 midterms prepped to set the table for the U.S., Congress and the White House, Meyer added the Latino vote is “largely up for grabs” and there is a “big disconnect” with it.
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Univision President Ignacio Meyer is warning both Republicans and Democrats to reach Hispanic voters in “their language” before the 2026 midterms. (Mireya Acierto/Getty Images)
“The Hispanic population has been called the great sleeping giant,” he added. “It’s no secret that it’s no longer sleeping. They’re awake. They’re influential, the largest growing demographic in the United States across culture, sports, news, any one of the segments.”
President Donald Trump’s border security and legal immigration policies are a lot more popular with Latino voters than Democrats might have imagined. Trump won more than 48% of the vote in his sweeping 2024 presidential election, winning all of the key battleground states.
Meyer pointed to the recent Texas primaries, saying addressing Hispanic voters in their language is key, urging spending early and often – a boon for his network.
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President Donald Trump’s progress with Hispanic voters has helped make the voting bloc a key battleground in election cycles. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
“Those that did their homework won,” he said, adding those that didn’t “lost, and they lost big.”
“I’m not a huge expert on politics,” he admitted, trying to play both sides to keep the campaign funds flowing in the political battlegrounds, but “balance of power in both the House and the Senate is going to be swung by very few races this year.”
“Out of all of those races, every single one has a high-density Hispanic population. Every single one of those voting blocs is up for grabs, and they want to be spoken to about the issues that are important to them.”
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María Isabel Ramirez prepares dinner with the help of her sons Alex,18, and Andy, 20, on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025 in Glendale, Arizona. (The Washington Post / Contributor)
Univision is the largest American Spanish-language television network, targeting Latino audiences, and is the way to speak to Hispanic voters “in their language,” which politicians do not do enough, according to Meyer.
“Why would our civil servants not speak to us in the language and the culture that we deserve to be spoken to, and talk to us about the issues that we deserve to be spoken to?” he asked.
“I think people would like to oversimplify what it’s like to be a U.S. Hispanic in the United States. When you come from another country, you have to fight for your place with different circumstances, different language.”
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Latinos should not be a “check-the-box” voting bloc to reach.
“Big growing population, check the box, spend X amount of money, spend it late – only in that window – and let it go: It’ll work,” he said of miscalculating political campaigns. “Well, there’s no magic.”
“It takes commitment.”
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Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, who also spoke on the panel, said Democrats’ losses among Latino voters reflect a broader disconnect with working-class concerns. He argued the party must focus on economic issues such as lowering prices and improving household finances to regain support.
