President-elect Donald Trump was able to declare a decisive victory on Election Day, in large part thanks to more Latino men being open to cast their ballots for him. As they look for returns on their votes now that Trump is just weeks away from starting his second term, this group is looking for pocketbook issues as a measure of success, according to a new analysis.
Relieving the rising cost of living, as well as more job and business opportunities are the main driving force for this new and powerful electorate, according to interviews made before and after the election by NBC News.
Close to 1 in 10 people in the U.S., about 32 million people are Hispanic males; the U.S. Latino population is nearly evenly divided between men and women. Latino males are also younger than men in the U.S. overall and have a higher participation rate in the workforce than any other racial group, according to the NBC News' analysis.
Exit polls showed Trump won 55% support from Hispanic men, while a poll for Latino and other progressive groups reported he won 43%.
Resoundingly, Latinos felt they struggled more economically during the Biden administration, leading them to support Trump, who consistently polled better on financial issues than his opponent Vice President Kamala Harris.
The COVID shutdowns— which began during the Trump administration but were the most strict under the governors of blue states— kneecapped the economy and gave way to inflation. Working families scrambled to find work as housing prices jumped. Those factors, coupled with immigration highs, paved the way for increased Trump support, Mike Madrid, a strategist who co-founded the Lincoln Project, told the Los Angeles Times.
"One in five Hispanic men work in the construction industry," he said. They enjoyed interest rates under the first Trump administration and lower housing costs, whether those had anything to do with his policies or not. "If you're one of the Latino men who work in the construction industry, you were quantifiably better off under the Trump administration."
Latinos overall have made gains in health insurance coverage, homeownership and inflation-adjusted wages under the Biden administration, according to Poynter. However, this was not enough for Democrats to secure another White House term, especially as Latino men grew more frustrated about high costs and the impact on their families. Their votes in future elections will likely rest on whether they feel the "American dream" is proving true for them, NBC News reports.
"It's abundant and clear to me that they need to see they are valued as a workforce, that they are invested in as a workforce," said Luis Ponjuan, an associate professor of education at Texas A&M, who began focusing his research on Hispanic men 15 years ago, "that they are given the infrastructure for that success to happen."
As pocketbook issues remain in the spotlight in the weeks following the elections, Latino men are also looking at how their small businesses will be benefited. A greater share of Latino male-owned businesses, 21%, are generating $1 million or more in annual revenue than Latina-owned businesses, at 14%. But 31% of white male-owned businesses are generating that level of revenue, according to the State of Latino Entrepreneurship Report.
Juan Garza, 43, who is a part owner of a small construction and remodeling business in San Antonio, Texas, said he would most like the next administration to do is help small-business owners like him know what's available to reduce costs, such as tax deductions— just like big businesses know how to do.
Likewise, experts are highlighting small businesses as important parts of Latino males' lives.
"Latinos are starting small businesses out of necessity," said Juan Proaño, an entrepreneur and the CEO of League of United Latin American Citizens, the nation's oldest Latino advocacy group. "When they can't find a job to support their families, they venture out to start one. The problem is they have to finance to grow that business to scale. While there are a lot of Latino startups, there are not a lot of scalable businesses, businesses that banks would invest in."
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