Latino voters played a massive role in Minnesota's blue wave election night victories.
Although Operation Metro Surge was one reason Latino voters flocked to the polls, Mikayla Mtanous, Political Director of Somos the Future, says the cost of living was more of an impetus behind them voting the way they did.
"Ultimately, at the end of the day, Latino voters are worried about the same things that other working families are worried about," Mtanous explains. "So, paying rent, putting food on the table, accessing healthcare and making sure their children have a better future."
She says there was also a ton of ground work done prior to the election.
"We were able to have around 45,000 direct calls, over 6,000 conversations, and those are a combination of phone banking and door knocks," she adds. "And so we were in a lot of targeted areas with Latino populations, especially in CD1."
And it is in Minnesota's 1st Congressional District where one of the state's biggest flips happened, pending what appears to be a recount. DFL candidate Jake Johnson holds a slim, 322 vote advantage over Republican incumbent Brad Finstad. If that holds, it would be the only flip of a Congressional race in Minnesota during this election.
While cost of living was at the top of the list, Mtanous also says the fallout still lingers from the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota over the winter.
"There was a lot of fear around people feeling comfortable sharing their issues that they're experiencing, who they're going to support," she added. "But a lot of that is also the relationship building that we have done and we have improved upon, especially these last few months."
Official numbers have yet to released as to how many Latino voters turned out in Minnesota, but Mtanous says it definitely exceeded previous midterm elections.
The Latino shift was not limited to Minnesota. Especially in Texas, large numbers of Latino voters moved left since the 2024 Election that helped put President Donald Trump back in the White House. The New York Times shows large Latino counties in Texas shifted 20, 30 or even up to 40 points to the left since 2024, a shockingly high departure in just two years.
In fact, every county in Texas shifted further to the left during the midterms with the biggest shifts coming from majority Hispanic counties.
