Once Again, Latino Voters in Pennsylvania key to Candidates in 2022

In the 2020 Presidential Election Latino voters were a critical voting bloc for both political parties. While former President Trump made gains with Latino voters in 2020, President Biden won Latino voter support nationally by a margin of 2 to 1. In my home state of Pennsylvania, Latino voters helped to propel President Biden to a slim victory, with 6 in 10 Latino voters casting their ballot for the current President. To put into perspective the role Latino voters played in Biden’s victory, Latinos yielded Democrats a net margin of 4.6 million votes, which is extremely significant since Biden’s overall margin of victory was just 7 million votes.

Once again, Latino Voters in Pennsylvania and in other states will be a critical voting bloc that will determine key U.S. Senate and Governor’s races in the 2022 midterms. Recent polling from Future Majority, shows overwhelming Latino voter support for Democrats in key swing states such as Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. And what may be a surprise to many political pundits and prognosticators, the poll also reveals Latino voters support a woman’s right to choose. According to the Future Majority poll, John Fetterman has a commanding 46-point lead over Dr. Oz with the Keystone state’s Latino voters, and Josh Shapiro maintains a 43-point margin over Doug Mastriano – which should be welcomed news for both campaigns. The poll confirms that Latino voters in Pennsylvania clearly are not interested in stoking culture wars, but want their elected leaders to defend our democracy, protect the middle class, invest in infrastructure, create jobs, crackdown on corruption and not scapegoat communities for their own political gain. Consequently, the poll shows that Republicans in these three states are underperforming to match the support they held in 2020.

While this poll is good news for the Fetterman and Shapiro campaigns, both candidates still have their work cut out for them to continue to build on their momentum with the state’s Latino electorate. They must make significant investments in Latino outreach and proactively work to target Spanish-speaking voters – specifically Puerto Rican voters who have helped fuel the state’s growth over the last several years and were instrumental in helping Democrats and President Biden win in 2020. This means authentic engagement with Latino leadership in the state and substantial investment in Latino media, particularly Latino owned media, that targets voters that need more information.

Meaningful investment and strategic engagement with Latino leaders and organizations are essential, but proactive and targeted messaging is critical to energizing Latino voters. It’s no longer not enough to say Republicans continue to play identity politics deepening the divide in our country, stoking culture wars and faux outrages. Democrats need to talk about how they will substantively offer solutions to real-life issues like the rising costs of living, creating jobs, and addressing crime and safety. They also must actively listen to the concerns of Latino voters because these voters want to vote for candidates who they feel represent their values.