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National exit polls revealed that Donald Trump achieved historic support among Latino voters, securing 45% of their votes—a level not reached by a Republican candidate since George W. Bush in 2004. In western Massachusetts cities like Holyoke and Springfield, where Latinos make up nearly half the population, preliminary results showed a noticeable shift toward Republican candidates.
To understand these voting trends, local Latina and Latino leaders shared their perspectives.
Xiomara DeLobato, vice president and chief of staff at the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts, wasn’t surprised by Trump’s support among Latino men, attributing it in part to cultural factors.
“That ingrained cultural machismo that we see a lot in the Latino community—it’s not a secret,” she said. “That misogyny that is very ingrained in our culture as a whole, right? All of Latin America, all of our countries in our heritage, it is, we're talking like centuries old.”
Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia saw Trump’s appeal as partly rooted in shared conservative values among many Latinos, alongside broader frustrations felt nationwide.
“The conservative ideas and values that most Latino cultures uphold on important issues that we all debate about across the country. And I think there's just a combination of factors that weighed in to why we saw what we saw,” he said.
Garcia also emphasized that national election outcomes shouldn’t overshadow local unity.
“It's frustrating because we all work so hard to foster unity, to foster collaboration, around our city,” he said. “And I just urge everybody not to let these results and other noise distract us from who we are as people, as human beings and what we have built together here.”
Springfield City Councilor Jose Delgado, who has observed a shift toward conservatism among Latinos, was similarly unsurprised by the election results.
“We all have different kinds of ideologies. And that’s something that I’ve noticed for a while,” Delgado said. “And I think that really played out in this election. You take Massachusetts aside, right? We’re kind of in our own little bubble. It’s obviously a blue state, but when I started reading some of the stuff that I was hearing from Latinos who are voting in Southern states, the stats showed that more and more are starting to lean right. Or more conservative.”
DeLobato also highlighted the economy as a major influence on voter behavior.
“We feel the impact to our purse,” she said, noting that many associated these economic concerns with the Biden-Harris administration, “when it’s a tax plan and economic plan that was inherited from the former administration.”
The team also spoke with voters in Springfield’s predominantly Latino North End, where economic issues were top of mind. While some voiced concerns about the economy, that didn’t necessarily translate into Republican support.
Ana Fontanez, who voted for Harris, said in Spanish that “Kamala is a Democrat, and Democrats have always supported the poor and the humble.”
“They support us because we’re in a country where we want to move forward and look to the future,” she added.
Jose Matias, another Springfield voter, explained his support for Harris over Trump, citing Trump’s treatment of Puerto Rico.
“The only ones that are going for Trump are unfortunately the Latinos that think they’re going to get money from him, which is not going to happen,” he said. “But after the comedian that roasted Puerto Rico, we definitely jumped on and said, you know what, screw him. And we’re definitely going to go with Harris.”
One thing is certain: the 2024 election highlights the diversity within the Latino electorate. Latinos are not a monolith. They are increasingly independent and prepared to hold both parties accountable.
This is part five of a five-part series for The Latino Election Project. The previous four stories, with corresponding Spanish versions, are here.
