Kamala Harris and Donald Trump made a big push for Latino voters Thursday, as the former president worked to assure Latino voters he has their best interests in mind and the vice president attempted to lock down the demographic crucial to her candidacy.
Harris and Trump crisscrossed Southwest on Thursday, making stops in Arizona and Nevada to make their case to Latino voters, a key demographic in the two states that could shape the election outcome. Still, both candidates took very different approaches to court the key demographic.
The vice president leaned on celebrities and entertainers, accompanied by Mexican music groups Los Tigres Del Norte and Maná at her rallies on Thursday, while Pop star Jennifer Lopez, who is Puerto Rican, also addressed voters in Nevada. Meanwhile, Trump made his focus on the southern border crisis and his plans for an illegal immigration crackdown.
The Sun Belt swing comes as both Trump and Harris are dealing with controversy surrounding their campaigns. Trump, dealing with the fallout from a comedian’s controversial joke calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally in New York last weekend, while Harris works to clean up a comment made by President Joe Biden on a video call in which he called Trump’s supporters “garbage” in response to the joke told at Trump’s rally.
Trump made a detour to Albuquerque, New Mexico earlier in the day, claiming he decided to appear in the Democratic-leaning state to improve his chances with Latino voters.
“I’m here for one simple reason: I like you very much, and it’s good for my credentials with the Hispanic or Latino community,” Trump told voters in the largest city in New Mexico.
In Arizona, Latinos make up 25% of the eligible voter population while in Nevada they represent just over one in five eligible voters, according to the Pew Research Center. Historically, Democrats have been dominant with this demographic, but polling has shown Trump has been erasing the advantage, particularly among Latino men.
PATHS TO VICTORY FOR HARRIS AND TRUMP IN 2024
Harris uses star power to woo Latino voters as she makes closing pitch
Harris made her closing argument at a rally in Phoenix, urging voters to contrast her message with Trump, warning he “insults Latinos” and “scapegoats immigrants” making what could be her final appeal to the influential voting bloc in Arizona.
“My opponent is also making his closing argument to America and you’ve probably seen a bit of it. It is an argument that is full of hate and division,” Harris said, speaking to voters at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre. “He insults Latinos, scapegoats immigrants, and it’s not just what he says, it’s what he will do if elected.”
Ahead of Harris’s speech, she was joined by Mexican band Los Tigres del Norte. She was also joined by Senate hopeful Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), who has been leaning hard on Latino voters in his campaign and has been crisscrossing the state for the last 22 months.
“I’m a dad, a husband, the son of immigrants, a congressman and a proud Marine, but even prouder Arizonan,” Gallego said, splitting his speech between English and Spanish.
“Hopefully in just five days, five days your next United States Senator and the first Latino senator in the history of Arizona,” he added.
But Harris’s most famous surrogate Thursday was Jennifer Lopez, who declared “every Latino in this country” was offended by the comedian’s controversial joke at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally last weekend.
“It wasn’t just Puerto Ricans that were offended that day. Okay, it was every Latino in this country. It was humanity and anyone of decent character,” Lopez said ahead of Harris’s speech in Las Vegas on Thursday.
Lopez, whose parents are Puerto Rican, appealed to Latino voters who represent a sizeable portion of Nevada’s population. Earlier this week, she voiced support for Harris’s campaign to her 250 million Instagram followers after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made the controversial comments about Puerto Rico.
“I am Puerto Rican, and yes, I was born here, and we are Americans,” Lopez said, getting visibly emotional.
“I am a mother, I am a sister. I am an actor and an entertainer. And I like Hollywood endings. I like when the good guy, or in this case, the good girl, wins.”
The latest New York Times/Siena poll showed Harris with only 52 percent of support among Hispanic voters, well below the 66 percent who voted for Joe Biden in 2020. According to the poll, Trump has the support of 42 percent of Hispanics.
An average of polling in the Grand Canyon State found Trump is leading the vice president by 2.4 percent, with 49.3 percent support to 46.9 percent.
KEY CHANGES IN EACH SWING STATE THAT COULD DECIDE THE 2024 ELECTION
Trump: ‘We’re going to win a record share of the Hispanic American vote’
Speaking to supporters in Henderson, Nevada, the GOP Republican candidate boasted of his support among Latinos who represent about 30 percent of Nevada’s population.
“We’re especially excited to have the support of a record number of Hispanic Americans right here in Nevada, we’re going to win a record share of the Hispanic American vote at a level that nobody’s ever seen before for the party,” Trump said.
Trump emphasized his appeal to Latinos revolves around the economy, specifically, on lowering inflation, building opportunities, and reinstating prior policies that will be better for their wallets.
“It’s pretty simple – Hispanics want great jobs. They want rising wages and they want safe communities. They are great people,” Trump said. “You don’t want vicious gang members getting dumped into your state.”
In the final days, Trump is continuing to count on concerns about illegal border crossings and immigration to drive turnout. In an unexpected moment, Trump brought the family of a Marine veteran who was shot and killed in Mexico onstage in an effort to highlight failures in immigration policy.
The former president described how Nicholas Douglas Quets, a Marine veteran from Arizona, was killed by a suspected Mexican cartel member in Northern Mexico a couple of weeks ago. The family met with both Trump and Vance in recent days and has decided to back the Republican ticket. They had previously told the Washington Examiner that they were shocked by the concern and deep support Trump and Vance expressed to them in private meetings.
“President Trump gave me 15 minutes of his time to talk about what we could do. I asked him for some things, and he helped,” said retired Army Lt. Col. Warren Douglas Quets, the father of the slain Marine, who said he wasn’t prepared to speak at the rally.
“It is the policy that contributed to my son being killed. It is the policy that’s contributing to the death of other Americans,” he added.
An average of polling in the Silver State found Trump is leading the vice president by 0.9 percent – with 48.5 percent support to 47.6 percent.