For years, actually make that decades, when you counted the Hispanic vote, it was Democrat. Those days are over.
Following a trend that started with Donald Trump in 2016, Latino voters are turning Republican in huge numbers, especially here in Texas.
"Hispanics are a work driven people, and when you have an economy especially now that is so abysmal, that people are really feeling the pain at every turn, that's also going to push folks into the Republican party" said Macarena Martinez, Southwest Communications Director with the RNC, "And Hispanics more than anything, are driven by how their families are being affected, and how their work is being affected."
A new poll by leftist MSNBC confirms that sentiment. After supporting Democrats by 38 points in 2016, Hispanics are now voting Democrat by just 13 points more.
Here in Texas, the Dems were dealt a devastating blow when Mayra Flores flipped a seat in Southwest Texas.
"The main reason why we haven't won statewide elections in Texas, is because the base of the Texas Democratic party has not come out to the extent that it needs to vote" said Gilberto Hinojosa, Chairman of the Texas Democrats, who knows full well how important Hispanics have been. "It's critical for the success of the Democratic party, obviously, because that's the biggest part of our base."
But now that base is shifting, thanks to a growing Democrat disconnect over many core values. Basically, this is no longer your grandparents Democrat party.
"It's an important voting block of folks who have never had their voices heard by the Democrat party" Martinez told KTRH, "Their voices were taken for granted, their votes were taken for granted for so many years until we really started to say this is not a party that neither represents our morals and our values, but it's also a party that really simply doesn't care about us."
The Democrats dispute that, setting the stage for a November showdown.
"If you look at the numbers, Hispanics are still voting 70% of the time for Democrats" Hinojosa told KTRH. We shall see, with the midterms now less than 3 months away.
Photo: Getty Images