As the second-fastest growing voting bloc, Latinos may prove critical in deciding presidential race in key swing states.
Vice President Kamala Harris held campaign events on Oct. 31 in Arizona and Nevada, two key battlegrounds with large Latino communities.
Harris kicked off her campaign with a stop in Phoenix, Arizona, before continuing to events in two cities in Nevada—Reno and Las Vegas.
In both states, Harris began her speech by discussing economic challenges, especially the high cost of living.
“On day one, when I am elected, I will walk in with a to-do list,” Harris told her supporters in Phoenix.
“And on top of my list, in that spirit, is bringing down your cost of living. It’s an issue that we need to address, and it will be my focus every single day as president.”
A report from the Pew Research Center in September showed that 85 percent of Latino voters consider the economy to be very important in this year’s presidential election. It’s followed by health care at 71 percent, violent crime and gun policy at 62 percent, immigration at 59 percent, and Supreme Court appointments at 58 percent.
Harris continued her speech by outlining her economic plan, assuring that she would deliver tax cuts to more than 100 million Americans, implement a federal ban on corporate price gouging for groceries, and ensure housing affordability.
In this year’s election, constitutional amendments to expand or protect abortion access will also be on the ballot in both Arizona and Nevada.
The Democratic presidential candidate targeted former President Donald Trump, Republican nominee, for his recent remarks at a rally on Oct. 30 that he would protect women “whether the women like it or not.”
“It actually is, I think, very offensive to women in terms of not understanding their agency, their authority, their right, and their ability to make decisions about their own lives, including their own bodies,” Harris told reporters in Wisconsin before heading to Arizona.
More than 36 million Latinos are eligible to vote this year, accounting for 15 percent of all voters. As the second-fastest growing voting bloc, Latinos may prove critical in deciding presidential race in several states, including Arizona and Nevada.
According to an NBC News–Telemundo–CNBC poll last month, 54 percent of registered Latino voters support Harris, compared to 40 percent backing Trump.
Harris has tried to bolster her appeal to this voting group, especially as a growing number within the community are beginning to shift toward Republicans. A growing number of Latino male voters are leaning toward Trump, recent surveys show.
Ernesto Castaneda, a sociology professor and director of the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies at American University, anticipates a strong turnout among Latino voters this year.
They could play a significant role in the upcoming election, especially in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, and maybe Georgia, Castaneda told The Epoch Times.
The Trump campaign issued a statement on Oct. 31 criticizing Harris’ track record on economic issues.
“Traditionally, Halloween brings costumes, haunted houses, ghost stories, and spooky movies. But under the Biden-Harris Administration, Americans have faced a new kind of fright: Kamalanomics,” the statement said. “Across the country, rising prices for costumes, candy, and decorations have left households feeling haunted by inflation rather than festive.”
According to the RealClearPolitics average, Trump is maintaining his lead in five of seven battleground states as of Oct. 31.
He has a 2.6 percentage-point lead in Georgia and a 2.4-point advantage in Arizona. Trump also maintains a narrow advantage in North Carolina (1.4 percent), Nevada (0.9 percent), and Pennsylvania (0.6 percent).
Harris has a razor-thin advantage in Michigan (0.5 percent) and Wisconsin (0.2 percent).
The Harris campaign announced on Oct. 31 that the vice president will host her election night watch party at Howard University in Washington, D.C., her alma mater and a historically black college (HBCU).
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign announced earlier that the former president will hold an election night watch party in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 5.Voters in Arizona interviewed by The Epoch Times said that their main concerns are inflation and immigration.
In a suburb outside Tucson, 43-year-old Joshua Goodman identifies himself as independent.
“This year, it’s going to boil down to people like me,” he said of control of Congress and the White House. “I flip back and forth; I don’t have a political allegiance.”
Goodman said his finances have gotten tighter over the past four years. He wants to move, but he can’t afford a mortgage with the current high rates hovering around 8 percent.
Inflation ties in with the country’s biggest problem, which is the open southwestern border, he said.
“We’ve got to shut it down,” he said.
Goodman complained about the price of groceries and eating out. He paid $3.33 plus tip for coffee, toast, and grits at a local eatery. He recently priced a six-piece Happy Meal at $10.32.
Veronica Mora Huff, 34, who is from San Simon, Arizona, is frustrated with illegal immigration and the high cost of living.
Huff, whose family is Mexican-American, said she and her husband work hard, but they are struggling to raise their children while foreign nationals have it easier.
“My husband works seven days a week. I work five days a week. We have three daughters,” she said. “We barely get by, and it’s not right because we do what we’re supposed to as Americans.”
Denny Graham from Tucson, Arizona, is a Harris supporter. The 89-year-old retired professor of engineering said life has mostly stayed the same for him under the Biden–Harris administration.
He marveled at the changes he’d seen in his lifetime for women’s rights and wondered if he would see the first woman president of the United States.
He recalled that when he graduated from high school, no women in his class went to college. Now, more women than men attend universities.
“The only thing that pisses me off about dying is I’m not going to see what’s going to happen. Think about the changes we’re going to experience in the next 50 years. It’s unbelievable,” he said.
Darlene McCormick Sanchez contributed to this report.