TelevisaUnivision CEO Reveals Trump's Turning Point with Latino Voters
Two weeks after Donald Trump 's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris on Election Day, many are still analyzing the results, citing factors like Harris's limited appeal to young men and Latino voters as key to her defeat.
A bilingual poll by the Latino-led firm BSP Research identified inflation, jobs, the economy, and housing costs as the top issues for Latino voters this year. The 2024 election saw a significant shift in support from Latino voters to the Republican candidate.
Internal data from TelevisaUnivision, the largest Hispanic network in America, showed that the outcome came as no surprise. While Harris polled better among Hispanics in their surveys, her numbers clearly underperformed compared to Joe Biden 's in 2020. Pennsylvania, a critical Democratic loss, ultimately cost her the election.
"The Latino vote has been progressively becoming less of a party vote and more of an issue vote," TelevisaUnivision CEO Daniel Alegre explained, citing proprietary polling data. Republicans , led by Trump's campaign, capitalized on this shift by emphasizing issues critical to Hispanic communities, such as the economy and border security.
While Trump leaned into economic concerns and border security, Alegre noted that Democrats focused more on themes like democracy and character attacks. These topics, though important, failed to resonate as strongly with Latino voters, particularly in battleground states.
"The message of democracy is critically important," Alegre acknowledged. "But our data showed that economic concerns were the top priority for Hispanic voters, especially with inflation disproportionately impacting Latino families."
Trump's appearance on Univision in November 2023 was described by Alegre as a watershed moment. In 2020, Trump's campaign dismissed the network as "a leftist propaganda machine and a mouthpiece of the Democrat Party." His one-on-one interview with the Hispanic network marked a significant shift.
"We hadn't seen a Republican presidential candidate on our network for over a decade until Donald Trump appeared last November. That was a significant moment, signaling to the community that they mattered," Alegre said.
The appearance, the first in over a decade by a Republican presidential candidate on Univision, set the tone for the campaign. Alegre emphasized its importance, noting that Trump gained more support from Hispanic voters than in previous elections.
"Showing up in Spanish-language media, taking tough questions, and engaging directly resonates deeply with the community. It's not just about placing ads in English-language media," Alegre said.
During the 2023 interview, Televisa anchor Enrique Acevedo highlighted a New York Times/Siena poll showing Trump with 42% Latino support across six battleground states. Trump responded with enthusiasm and praise, a stark contrast to his infamous anti-Mexican and anti-Latino rhetoric during the 2016 campaign.
"I call Hispanic, Latino, you have lots of different terms. But it all means the same thing as far as I'm concerned. It's, they're just great people, incredible people," Trump told Acevedo in English.
Shift in the Discourse
During the campaign, both Trump and Harris participated in Latino town halls, facing tough audience questions. Univision, which hosted both events, reported that both candidates performed well, with 60 percent of viewers indicating they were more likely to vote after watching.
However, Alegre pointed out that what followed the town halls likely influenced the final outcome. While Trump's communication strategies focused on inflation and border security with hyper-targeted ads in key states, Democrats continued to emphasize themes like democracy and character attacks. These messages, though significant, didn't resonate as strongly with Latino voters in battleground states.
"Those messages of democracy are critically important," Alegre reiterated. "But our data showed that economic concerns were the top priority for Hispanic voters, especially with inflation disproportionately impacting Latino families."
Trump's campaign also targeted young men, particularly Latino men, a group that shifted sharply toward Republicans. Also, nearly half of Latino voters in key battleground states were open to voting for a party they hadn't supported before. A YouGov/Univision poll conducted during the election cycle revealed that 25 percent of Latino voters did not feel aligned with any specific party, with less than 25 percent identifying as Democrats and only 12 percent as Republicans.
"First-generation voters may prioritize different issues than second- or third-generation voters," Alegre said. "The Latino vote is not a monolithic group, and campaigns must approach it with nuance."
