bipartisan poll<\/a> from UnidosUS paints a searing, undeniable picture of an electorate that is deeply strained, exhausted by partisan warfare and ignored by the establishment.<\/p>\nNationally, 68% of Latino voters believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to the poll. Only 15% say they are living comfortably. The top four issues are pocketbook concerns: cost of living (60%), jobs and wages (40%), healthcare costs (37%) and housing (27%).<\/p>\n
The GOP recognized this reality. To their credit, they showed up, tapped into economic anxieties and spoke directly to our communities. In 2024, that earned them historic margins.<\/p>\n
But the UnidosUS data reveals a paradox that should serve as a flashing red light for both parties.<\/p>\n
While the Trump administration\u2019s policies have caused a severe erosion of support \u2014 with 67% of Latinos now disapproving of the president\u2019s performance and 1-in-4 Latino Trump voters from 2024 saying they regret their choice \u2014 Democrats are not automatically reaping the benefits.<\/p>\n
Both parties are underperforming. Why? Partly because many Latino voters have joined the voting rolls in just the last four years. They are young, independent and have no institutional loyalty to a political establishment that does not speak to them directly.<\/p>\n
Nowhere is this disconnect more evident than in Florida. Despite its economic growth and expanding political influence, many families face rising costs, struggling schools and uncertainty surrounding immigration policy. National politicians love to use immigration as a cudgel in the culture wars, detached from how it impacts real families. The UnidosUS data shows that 44% of Latinos fear that immigration authorities will harass or arrest them, even if they are U.S. citizens or legal residents. Furthermore, 86% of Latinos \u2014 including a majority of Latino Republicans \u2014 support legal status for long-residing undocumented immigrants.<\/p>\n
Our people do not want cruel, sweeping enforcement. They want a fair, orderly and decent system. They want the American Dream, pursued lawfully and with integrity.<\/p>\n
In South Florida, foreign politics is local politics. What happens in people\u2019s countries of origin affects everything, including their votes. Yet Washington continues to pour millions into television advertising while neglecting the community infrastructure and trusted local relationships that actually shape political engagement.<\/p>\n
Florida must never be abandoned. As a university professor, I look at the young, talented students in my classrooms and see the key to unlocking an incredible future for our country. But they are being locked out by a political system that prefers partisan theater over people-centered policy.<\/p>\n
The midterms are rapidly approaching, and the Latino electorate is highly motivated to vote \u2014 76% indicate they plan to head to the polls. But they are not waiting for any politicians\u2019 drafted talking points. They are looking for leaders who understand their realities.<\/p>\n
It is time for a radical shift. We must build real relationships with the human beings behind the data. Only when we stop treating Latino communities as an election-cycle calculation, and start showing up at their doors, sitting at their kitchen tables and earning their trust can we move forward united and ready for the next 250 years.<\/p>\n
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is a former member of Congress, the first South American-born immigrant elected to the U.S. Congress and director of the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management.<\/p>\n
\u00a92026 Miami Herald.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the first Latina ever nominated for a U.S. Senate seat in Florida and a former member of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":303820,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1812,28,30,29,127416,127415,807,21491,6413],"class_list":["post-303819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-democratic-party","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-latino-trump-voters","tag-latino-voters","tag-south-florida","tag-u-s-senate","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/303820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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