'Gone to S—t': Poor Economy Drives Latino Men Away from Harris in Swing State Nevada

In battleground Nevada, Vice President Kamala Harris is losing support among Latino men, a historically Democratic bloc, with many citing the weak economy under the Biden-Harris administration, USA Today reported.

"Ever since they kind of just got into office, like Kamala Harris and [Joe] Biden, it’s kind of gone to s—t," said Brian Ruiz, a 23-year-old who lives in Las Vegas.

Ruiz said that "everything was kind of cheaper" when Donald Trump was president and the country also wasn’t at war, USA Today reported.

"To be honest, it wasn’t really that bad," Ruiz said. He added that he doesn't believe Harris’s plans will help the economy.

"I feel like we’re just gonna go more in debt than we already are."

Latinos in Nevada account for about 20 percent of the state’s electorate, and that voting group, which could tip the scale in the tight race, has been shifting towards the Republican party, USA Today reported. In Barack Obama’s 2008 victory, he earned more than 75 percent of the Latino vote in the Silver State. Harris is currently polling under 60 percent.

Trump leads Harris 53 percent to 40 percent among Latino men aged 18 to 34, like Ruiz. Among Latino men aged 35 to 49, Trump’s support is also 53 percent, compared to Harris’s 39 percent.

Other Latino voters echoed Ruiz, saying the economy was stronger and their businesses were more successful under the Trump administration.

"We've been here 18 years, and when Trump was in power, the economy was stronger," Pedro Fernandez, a Las Vegas carpenter, told NPR.

Another Las Vegas resident, Mario Arias, said small business owners in his community often reminisce about how successful their businesses were under Trump.

Yordany Gonzalez, a registered Democrat who voted for Joe Biden in 2020, said he trusts Republicans more than Democrats to fix the economy and to put America first, a hallmark of Trump's campaign.

"Maybe we got to be a little selfish in our country and say, you know what everybody else? We can't do nothing for you right now. We need to work ourselves out," he said.

Harris and Trump will participate in Univision town halls this month, providing both an opportunity to address Spanish-speaking voters across America. Trump will hold his town hall in Miami next week, while Harris will be in Nevada Thursday to court Latino voters in the swing state.

Rafael Collazo, executive director of UnidosUS Action Fund, doubts Harris’s Nevada event will change the minds of Latino men who are set on Trump.

"There's Latino voters that at this point are supporting [Trump] or are potentially supporting him or undecided genuinely at this point, that are in that traditional Univision viewership," Collazo said.

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