Over the past several years, Latino voters — men under 40, in particular — have shifted right, but evidence from elections during President Donald Trump’s second term suggest an abrupt correction is underway.
The recent shift to the left could have a significant effect on the politics of 2026, potentially putting control of Congress in the hands of Latino voters.
In a commentary in The Conversation, UCLA Luskin professor of public policy Gary M. Segura and faculty director Matt A. Barreto of the UCLA Voting Rights Project explore these dynamics, tapping into their expertise as political scientists and pollsters who study Hispanic voting trends.
Many Latinos are quite upset with Trump’s actions on the economy and immigration, polls show. Segura and Barreto also note that some Latinos question whether Democrats who have received their support in the past have delivered on policies that would improve the lives of their families.
“Latino voters need to believe that politicians truly care about their concerns and will work to implement a plan to create equal opportunities for the nation’s largest minority group to achieve the American dream,” Segura and Barreto write. “We believe the candidates able to make that pitch convincingly will be the most successful.”
