Latino Voters Flip Back to Democrats, Powering Midterm Gains
Shifts in Texas and Arizona helped Democrats retake Congress and state legislatures after a 2024 surge for Republicans.
By Ethan Cooper ·
Latino voters reversed their 2024 support for President Trump and the Republican Party, helping Democrats secure major victories in the 2026 midterm elections. This rapid shift erased the advantage Republicans gained in the previous cycle.
Hector Sanchez Barba, president and CEO of Mi Familia Vota, said Republicans enacted policies that incited fear in the community after their 2024 win. "They came after us," Barba said. "It’s a very deep wound. What they have done to Latinos is something the community will not forget."
In 2020, Trump received about 36% of the Latino vote. That figure rose to nearly half in 2024. By November 2026, the trend reversed in key states. Predominantly Latino counties in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, which went for Trump by 10 to 15 points in 2024, rejected Republicans this year.
Mark Hugo Lopez, director of race and ethnicity research at the Pew Research Center, noted that this vote was critical for Democrats retaking control of Congress. It also propelled candidates like Senator-elect James Talarico and Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa in Texas. Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar won re-election by 36 points in a district redrawn to disadvantage Democrats.
Lopez said other groups, including Black voters, young voters, and white voters without a college degree, also shifted left. "Some people who didn’t vote in ’24 likely turned out this year," Lopez said. "We need more data to find out, but that’s likely a part of the story."
In Arizona, 22-year-old voter D’Anna Sauceda skipped the 2024 election but returned in 2026 due to economic pressures. "The people, we have to take the power back," Sauceda said on Election Day. "It’s not all in Donald Trump. We also have power ourselves."
Alejandra Gomez, executive director of LUCHA, said the Latino vote handed Democrats a mandate. "The message is that our communities turn out," Gomez said. Arizona’s legislature is likely to be controlled entirely by Democrats for the first time in generations, with about a quarter of the electorate being Latino. Gomez cited goals such as a higher minimum wage and eviction protections.
Republican strategist Jaime Molera said both parties failed to build the Latino base effectively. "Securing the border is one thing," Molera said, "but ripping apart families, that’s another." He argued that regaining trust requires sustained engagement over years rather than a single campaign season.
