Two years after shifting heavily toward Donald Trump and bolstering Republican victories, Latino voters across key battlegrounds from Florida to Texas are souring on the party in power ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, according to multiple public surveys and community interviews.
The shift follows growing voter frustration over persistent economic strains and intensified enforcement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In South Florida’s Miami-Dade County, where Latinos make up more than 70 percent of residents, the change in sentiment is testing Republican incumbents who previously enjoyed comfortable margins.
Unease in South Florida
In Doral, Florida, which is home to the nation’s largest concentration of Venezuelan Americans, residents and merchants report widespread anxiety. Masked ICE officers on city streets have frightened patrons away from local establishments, Stephanie Caro, who operates a family coffee shop, told CBS News, explaining that people are altering daily habits out of fear.
Andrea Ramos, a naturalized citizen who cheered Trump earlier this year following the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, told CBS News she now feels “in a way, betrayed.” Ramos pointed to federal agents targeting asylum seekers holding valid work permits and pending legal cases, alongside broader dissatisfaction with the economy. When asked whether she still supported Trump or recommended voting for Republicans, Doral’s Republican Mayor Christi Fraga declined to endorse either, telling CBS News, “Vote your conscience.”
The unease has filtered into Florida’s 27th Congressional District, where Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar faces Democratic challenger Eliott Rodriguez. Salazar aired a campaign ad directly appealing to Trump, asserting that “some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far” and warning that Hispanic voters feel let down. Rodriguez, campaigning alongside House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, dismissed the ad as political posturing, noting Salazar’s past votes supporting ICE funding.
Shifting dynamics along the Texas border
A parallel dynamic is unfolding across South Texas, where Republicans redrew congressional districts expecting 2024 voting patterns to hold. In the Rio Grande Valley, small-business owners and agricultural workers say administration tariffs and workplace raids have hit daily operations and depressed commerce, the Los Angeles Times reported.
In Texas’ 15th Congressional District, Tejano singer and Democratic candidate Bobby Pulido is challenging Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz. While De La Cruz defended her record of cutting taxes and standing with border authorities, local voters including former Trump supporters told reporters they are backing Pulido because rising prices and deportations have strained local families. The broader trend is also shaping competitive contests for Texas’ 28th and 34th congressional districts as well as a competitive Senate race between Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton and Democratic state Rep. James Talarico.
Polls reflect widening divide
Recent national and state polling highlights the hurdles facing the GOP. An NBC News/Telemundo survey released this month showed Latino voters favor Democratic control of Congress over Republicans by a margin of 59 percent to 35 percent, with only 27 percent approving of Trump’s overall performance. A CBS News Battleground Tracker poll similarly found that 60 percent of Hispanic likely voters intend to back congressional Democrats, while 59 percent said the White House is focusing too heavily on deportations.
Trump has brushed off suggestions of declining support, telling reporters on Monday, “I think we are doing great, I won Hispanics,” and pointing to his 2024 performance. Whether the drop in support translates into decisive seat flips will be determined when ballots are tallied on election night.
