President-elect Donald Trump won the county in the United States with the highest percentage of Latinos by 16 points after losing it by 60 points in 2016.
Latinos make up 97.7% of Starr County, which is situated on the Texas-Mexico border. The county voted Democrat in every presidential election since 1892, usually voting 80%-90% for Democrats. Previously, the only outliers were Richard Nixon’s landslide in 1972 and the 2020 election, when the Democratic share was only in the 50% range. On Tuesday, Trump finally flipped the county with 57.7% of the vote compared to Vice President Kamala Harris’s 41.8%.
The flip reflects Trump’s larger trend of gaining support among Latinos, specifically Latino men, a majority of whom voted for Trump, according to exit polls. Harris claimed a narrow majority of the Latino vote overall.
Tuesday’s results mark the single largest share of the Latino vote a Republican has ever won. In comparison, 66% of Latinos voted for Hilary Clinton in 2016 and 65% for Joe Biden in 2020.
According to analysts, Latinos were largely attracted to Trump because of economic factors. Others said that Trump’s macho rhetoric appealed largely to Latino males while linking Harris to socialism and communism motivated Latinos from countries with left-wing governments.
Ana Valdez, CEO of the Latino Donor Collaborative, told Newsweek that Trump was able to touch on certain conservative sentiments, but also that they felt abandoned by and disillusioned with the Democrats.
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“The lack of investment in meaningful engagement by Democrats has made it easier for Republicans to appeal to Latinos frustrated by unfulfilled promises. Latinos aren’t loyal to any party—they’re loyal to those who recognize their needs and show respect,” she said.
Democrats had hoped that Trump’s opposition to illegal immigration and insult comic Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke at a Trump rally that Puerto Rico was a “floating island of garbage” would help mobilize Latinos against Trump. Those hopes failed to materialize.