President-elect Donald Trump has accomplished something no other Republican presidential candidate has accomplished since 1892. It reversed poverty-stricken Starr County, which has a 97% Hispanic population. This is the county that Hillary Clinton won by 60 points in 2016, and it also happens to be the county where I am. to the Republican Party.
playing cards raked up It accounts for nearly 60% of the county vote, an increase of about 40 points since the president took office.
Starr County is located in the Rio Grande Valley and also includes Willacy, Cameron, Hidalgo, and Zapata counties. As of Wednesday morning, President Trump got it Since losing to President Joe Biden in 2020, Biden has gained about 35,000 votes in RGV, with Biden leading in each county with over 95% of the vote. Conveniently They won in all of these counties except Zapata.
But Trump’s success went far beyond RGV.
According to one survey, he received 54% approval among Hispanic men nationwide, compared to 44% for Vice President Kamala Harris. NBC exit poll. In 2020, Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump among the same demographic by a 23-point margin (59-36).
An Edison Research poll showed Harris winning 53-45 among Hispanics in general. show. Still, no Republican president has done so well since George W. Bush. won In 2004, it was 44%.
How on earth was Trump able to flip one of Texas’ poorest counties and make such huge gains among demographics that have historically voted Democratic? (Stream “Cleaning Up Kamila” here)
The Daily Caller’s Robert McGreevey spoke with lifelong Democrats in Starr County and the Rio Grande Valley before the election, and the economy was the main reason they switched to Trump this time around.
When I was growing up, my neighborhood was, and will always be, blue. Naturally, in areas where a significant percentage of people live in poverty, they will want and probably need some form of welfare, and that is something that Democrats have traditionally championed. . Meanwhile, local residents perceived the Republican Party to be a party more favorable to businesses and wealthy whites.
If you say you’re a Republican, you’re definitely a weirdo. Locals will accuse you of cosplaying as an elitist who has forgotten where you’re from.
A trip through Starr County, on the Texas-Mexico border, with a 97% Hispanic population: pic.twitter.com/LrpssIPF6E
— Steve Kornacki (@SteveKornacki) November 6, 2024
Harris’ main issues this election cycle were giving women the right to abort their babies as a form of birth control, and Marxist economic policies such as regulating food and drug prices. Democrats as a whole are also obsessed with extravagant issues like gender ideology, climate change, and so-called systemic racism. The average American living in poverty doesn’t really care about these things unless he can put food on the table for his family.
Simply put, bidenomics has traumatized Rio Grande Valley residents (and probably many others) to such an extent that they have completely given up on their commitment to Mr. Harris due to the hardships of the past four years.
For Latinos of both political affiliations, the biggest issue was the economy – 85% According to Go to Pew Research. Ironically, illegal immigration was also a top concern, but even more so for Hispanics who support Trump (71% vs. 51%). Violent crime similarly unites the two sides (62%), and Harris supporters list health care (78%) as a top priority.
Notice that the biggest concerns of Latinos on both sides of the aisle are not climate change, LGBT rights, or systemic racism, which Democrats keep talking about. The voting bloc believes that: jumpy I would like to talk a little bit about the abortion issue. majority Unfortunately, it’s American.
Clearly, Mr. Trump has somehow appealed more to Hispanics, especially men, than Republicans so far. Besides economics and crime, the reasons are pretty obvious.
Where I come from, men are tough. They like designer clothes, cars, and jewelry (while poverty rates are high in RGV, there is an upper class as elsewhere). Working hard is non-negotiable. Fathers teach their sons not to be weaklings and to take matters into their own hands. We riff on each other rough and lash out, but we know that in the end it’s all about love.
Science shows President Trump has more support than Hispanics @GeraldoRivera
— Greg Gutfeld (@greggutfeld) November 6, 2024
Mr. Trump is the epitome of a successful American businessman who does what he wants, says what he wants, and commands respect. Almost every man I know in my hometown, whether they like Trump or not, appreciates these traits and strives to be like them. We work hard because we want to prosper and give our children a better life.
Obviously, women in this area are attracted to men like this.
On the other hand, the Democratic Party, which is a coastal elite, cannot sympathize with this at all. They come from wealthy families and speak in euphemisms like “people of color,” “illegal immigrants,” and “gender-affirming care.” They’ve never really dealt with blue-collar types, so they’re very perplexed that Mr. Trump can get away with acting and saying things like he does. Although Trump is clearly not a working-class man, he has spent his time collecting rent from very tough neighborhoods and has even interacted with construction workers throughout his real estate career. He gets it, and macho Hispanics can see it.
Republicans have a real chance to make a big difference in traditionally Democratic voting blocs. Take notes from Trump. He burst into Republican politics like a bombshell and completely changed the structure of the party. He has done more to win over working-class and Hispanic voters than the neoconservative establishment has ever done.
Maintaining the trust of Hispanic voters shouldn’t be difficult. Comparatively, Hispanics appear to be socially conservative and culturally Christian. They don’t want their children to have a life-altering sex change; reluctant Embracing the spread of gender ideology.
Their biggest concern seems to be quite simple. They want to live in a decent economy and have safe streets, two things Democrats are absolutely failing at.
This election was a repudiation of the radical left’s orthodoxy and the terrible economics of Biden and Harris. If the Republican Party can win the trust of new voters and improve their lives during President Trump’s second term, the realignment could indeed become permanent.
