Harris and Trump push for Pennsylvania support as GOP courts Hispanic vote in key battleground state

As Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump continue to make efforts to win the hearts and minds of swing voters in battleground states, the Hispanic vote in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has come into focus.

While Pennsylvania has a history of traditionally voting Democratic in presidential elections, the state has historically held a high number of Republican state legislators and senators. It also cast its 19 electoral votes for then candidate Donald J. Trump in the 2016 presidential election when he challenged former Democratic U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton.

While Pennsylvania doesn’t have as large of a Hispanic population as states such as Arizona, Florida and Texas, Latinos constitute about 7.5% of the state’s voting population.

According to Latino advocacy groups such as Mi Familia Vota and UnidosUS, 21% of Pennsylvania's Hispanic and Latino community will be voting in their first presidential election this year. 

Now Trump and his Republican advisers are aiming to amplify their support among Hispanic American and Latino voters in Pennsylvania, which many say could be a decisive state in the presidential election.

The Keystone State came into focus this month after Harris surprised the nation by choosing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a move that left the state wide open.

From the media’s perspective, Trump has not historically prioritized minority outreach. On April 27, The Associated Press published a story saying the former president closed several party offices that specialized in minority outreach.

Darrell Scott, a Black pastor who co-founded the National Diversity Coalition for Trump in 2016 told the wire service that, “the Republican Party does not have a cohesive engagement plan for Black communities,” adding that, “what it has are conservatives in communities of color who have taken it upon themselves to head our own initiatives.”

But that may be changing—especially in Reading and its neighboring cities.  

Republican outreach in Pennsylvania

In the heart of Pennsylvania’s industrial community, Reading, Pennsylvania has a population of 95,000 that is 69% Latino, according to U.S. Census figures. Reading, located about 65 miles northwest of Philadelphia—where Democrats hope to energize their minority base—has a strong Dominican and Puerto Rican population who are disappointed in the Biden administration and looking for an alternative.

Reading’s mayor, Eddie Moran, is a Latino migrant, and the city is one of only three in the state with a Hispanic population exceeding 50%.

The other two cities, Allentown and Hazleton are only a couple of hours drive from Reading, prompting some Pennsylvanians call the area the state’s “Latino Belt.”

Reading boasts an impressive corporate and manufacturing base with companies such as PepsiCo, the Coca Cola Company, Teleflex, Mitsubishi, Hollister, and Sherwin Williams. Hazelton also boasts several large companies with job opportunities, including Hershey Corporation, the Red Rooster fast food chain, and the Northeastern Pennsylvania Health Corporation.  

A May 17, 2024 story published by The Associated Press reports that “Latinos seeking jobs and affordable housing have transformed Hazelton,” with 40% of its population being Hispanic and two thirds of the Hazelton School District students being Hispanic.

Data USA reports that 54% of Allentown residents are Hispanic and there’s even a push to make the town’s official language Spanish.

According to a 2021 Pennsylvania Capital Star report, many Hispanics in the town still harbor resentment over an earlier effort in 1992 to make the town’s official language English, a response to claims from then Democratic City Councilmember Emma Tropiano who blamed 99% of the city’s crime on Hispanics. Two years later, the town adopted the resolution leaving Hispanics feeling alienated.

Now Trump’s campaign is hoping to get its message across to Hispanic Americans living in the Latino Belt.

With help from the Republican National Committee and Pennsylvania GOP, the party apparatus has managed to open a “Latino Americans for Trump” office in Reading, hoping that their message of  smaller government and entrepreneurship will connect with a community that usually supports Democrats.

The front window of the office reportedly features signs reading “Latino Americans for Trump,” “Stop Illegal Voting” and “Joe Biden, You’re Fired.”

When the recent Latino outreach office opened earlier this summer, former Puerto Rican Gov. Luis Fortuño spoke, telling a crowd of several dozen, “We believe in the American Dream and the only way to obtain the American Dream is working hard.” He then pushed a theme of “Necesitamos cambio,”  which is Spanish for “We need change.”

Republican U.S. Senate candidate David McCormick told the audience at a June opening that the Republican Party is the right vehicle for change in the Latino community.

“If you think the status quo is OK, you should vote for Bob Casey, not for me,” McCormick said of his Democratic opponent. “If you want change, you should vote for me and that’s change up and down the ticket. Change with President Trump coming in the White House and bringing leadership, steady leadership, back to our country.”

Berks County Commissioner Michael S. Rivera also spoke at the event, saying that the new Hispanic outreach office “demonstrates the Republican Party’s understanding of the power of diversity among the American people, adding that, “Latinos represent an increasingly important voting bloc whose support can significantly impact election outcomes. We’re not only an economic powerhouse, but we are also a political powerhouse.”

The Republican National Committee believes its efforts to reach out to Hispanic Americans will be successful because its message will resonate with the community.

“Latino Americans are leaving the Democrat Party behind because they know that Joe Biden has failed,” reads a statementreleased by Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley and Co-Chairman Lara Trump on the RNC website.“From skyrocketing inflation and unaffordable housing to violent crime and open borders, all Americans are worse off under Biden. The Republican Party is committed to forging longstanding relationships with the Latino American community – and the launch of ‘Latino Americans for Trump’ is just the beginning.” 

Catching up to a strong showing from Democrats

The GOP’s move comes amid Democratic efforts to capture minority votes across the battleground state.

According to a June 13 AP report, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party has already opened two dozen offices with more than 100 staffers across the state and has been spending on ads targeting voters with Colombian, Mexican, Puerto Rican and Caribbean ancestry.

Before Harris received the Democratic nomination, the Biden campaign launched a nationwide Hispanic voter outreach program in March. It even pushed a digital ad in various states illuminating Trump’s affiliation with Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, widely known for cracking down on illegal immigration in Arizona.

An AP VoteCast calculation suggests that more than 6 in 10 Latino voters supported Biden in 2020 and 35% supported Trump, but a July poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research determined that only 4 in 10 Latinos were somewhat or very optimistic about the Democratic Party’s future.

The poll also said that about one quarter of Hispanics shared the same enthusiasm for the Republican Party, and that Hispanic adults are conflicted about their opinions about Harris as a presidential candidate.

The survey said that 44% have a favorable view of the vice president while 43% have an unfavorable view, but that half of Hispanic adults would be content with Harris as the Democratic nominee—a 15% spike since Biden was the presumptive nominee in July.

On the one hand, Democrats have seen a resurgence in Hispanic support since Harris replaced Biden on the ticket.

On the other, some have suggested Harris has her own uphill battle to capture Hispanics and Latino votes after being criticized in 2021 for comments she made, telling Guatemalan migrants not to come to the U.S. when she was tasked with overseeing the border.

“Do not come. Do not come. The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure out borders,” she said in a June 2021 news conference alongside Guatemalan president Alejandro Giammattei. “If you come to our border, you will be turned back.

Still, the Democrats’ replacement of Biden with Harris as a nominee has seen an undeniable surge in Latino support.

On July 31, ADN America reported that a July 14 memo written by Democratic pollster Matt Barreto revealed that Harris came ahead of Biden by 46 points among Hispanics who said they disapproved of the president and former President Trump. 

In a July 22 report published by The Hill, Barreto’s polling, which was conducted before Biden stepped down, the vice president’s popularity among young Hispanics ages 18-29 was 16 points better than Biden. That number may have significance since of the 53% of Hispanic Americans eligible to vote, only 39% of them are 50 years or older.

Battleground states and the Hispanic Vote

In a state that decided the presidential election by 82,000 votes in 2020, Pennsylvania’s Hispanic population of 600,000 could prove to be significant. A recent June 6 Pew Research Center survey reports that eight in 10 Latino voters believe their vote can make a difference.

While Harris’ nomination is still recent, some outlets predict Pennsylvania’s large Puerto Rican community could be influential in her favor—while conservatives are banking on turning the vote with Latinos who are frustrated in The Keystone State.

According to Democratic pollster Somos, “a Latino-led, Latino-focused organization aimed at empowering hardworking Latinos year-round to participate in our nation’s democracy by taking action in our own communities,” Harris is gaining ground with young Latinos in battleground states, including Pennsylvania.

Somos, which commissioned BSP Research to conduct a survey of 800 Hispanic voters from seven battleground state, and released it Monday to the New Republic, says Harris is currently leading 55% to 37% among Hispanic voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and North Carolina.

Somos reported that data reveals Harris has a “very strong lead among Latinos” in a pool “large enough sample in them to arrive at a confident estimate of the two-party vote in the states that will actually decide the election.” According to the poll, 34% of Latinos are more enthusiastic about voting with Harris as the nominee, while 10% are less interested.

According to an April 3 NBC News report, Somos committed spending $57 million in eight battleground states including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina and even Texas.

Last month, the Trump campaign was targeting President Biden with a July advertising campaign in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The question for Trump may not be whether he can capture the majority of Hispanic voters, but rather how many he can recruit from the Democrats— and if it will be enough to tilt the scales in his favor this November.