From the far reaches of South Texas to the dense urban enclaves of northern New Jersey, Republicans made significant gains with working-class Latino voters last year.
The upcoming midterm elections will test the durability of that rightward shift — and whether it’s transferable to down-ballot Republicans running in a time of economic turbulence without Donald Trump at the top of the ticket.
In addition to Texas and New Jersey, Republicans have their sights on a handful of heavily Hispanic congressional districts in California. They range from a race in the San Joaquin Valley that is likely to be among the nation’s most competitive to an under-the-radar contest in a blue district in Southern California that could become a battleground as the election cycle unfolds.
