'We needed to show Trump': Latinos say they just sent a warning shot to GOP

Democrats regained support from Latino voters in this week's elections, which analysts view as a warning sign to Republicans who hoped to build on President Donald Trump's showing with them last year.

The two New Jersey counties with he highest concentration of Latino voters tilted more sharply toward Democrats than any others, while heavily immigrant city of Manassas Park, Virginia, backed the Democratic gubernatorial candidate by a 42-point margin – nearly double the advantage Democrats notched in last year’s presidential race or the governor’s race three years earlier than that, reported the Washington Post.

“I don’t think they voted in favor of the Democratic Party — they voted against what they dislike in the Republican Party,” said Jose Arango, longtime GOP chair in New Jersey’s heavily Latino Hudson County.

Argano's county swung 22 points to the left compared with 2024, and he explained the shift by pointing to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, while others cited the high cost of living that Trump promised to address and a general feeling that the president was focused on expanding his own power and ignoring voters' lives.

“Latino voters are pro-business, pro-school-choice, and pro-home-ownership and lower taxes — everything that we’re talking about as Republicans,” Arango said. "[But] when you start to touch the grandmother that is here for 20 years or the guy that is maybe married to an American family … you’re creating an American problem.”

Democrats are buoyed by the results looking ahead toward the midterms but noted that turnout tends to favor Democrats in off-year elections, and they also cautioned that results in New Jersey and Virginia may not apply to races in South Florida and South Texas – although Latino voters everywhere are wary of activity by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“People are afraid to have a Donald Trump ally in New Jersey,” said Alex Mendez, a councilman in the majority-Hispanic city of Paterson, who heard a lot of fear about ICE raids from U.S. citizens as he campaigned for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mikie Sherrill and other candidates.

Polling shows Latinos are already souring on Trump's second term, with only a quarter of them reporting a "somewhat” or “very” favorable view of the president last month, a sharp drop from the 44-percent support he enjoyed from them just before taking office.

“It’s really sad seeing and hearing my family be scared to even leave the house because we hear ICE is in town at Walmart, and just like not being able to do everyday stuff that any American should be able to do,” said 19-year-old Reyna Corretjer, who volunteered for Spanberger’s campaign.

Sonia Hernandez, 25, and her brother Daniel, 22 – who each supported Kamala Harris in 2024 – texted relatives ahead of Tuesday's election to ensure they voted in Virginia's election for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, who ultimately prevailed.

“We needed to show Trump that you can’t just do whatever you want,” said Daniel Hernandez, of Manassas Park. “The people are going to respond, and, oh man, I feel like the people definitely showed that in Virginia.”