Chris Martinez feels like Donald Trump has made a fool of him.
asserted
Trump → feel → him
The 28-year-old maintenance technician from Casa Grande, Arizona, voted for the Republican president expecting to get a thriving economy and no wars.
asserted
technician → vote → economy
Instead, gas prices are so high that Martinez returned one of his vehicles to the lender, he shifted his food shopping to a discount grocer and he has watched as the United States has spent months in conflict with Iran.
“He’s doing nothing for us, to benefit us,” Martinez said.
asserted
Martinez → return → us
“And it kind of sucks because I got duped and I feel like a dummy.”
asserted
I → suck → dummy
As a group, Latinos shifted toward Trump two years ago, helping return him to the White House with a Republican-controlled Congress.
asserted
Latinos → shift → Congress
Now, many like Martinez are souring on the president and his party, which could upend the balance of power in Washington in the Nov. 3 elections.
uncertain
which → sour → elections
“I went right for a while, but I’m back to the middle,” Martinez said.
asserted
Martinez → go → middle
The path to a U.S. House majority runs through heavily Latino districts in states such as Arizona, Colorado and Texas, where Democrats are counting on disaffected Trump supporters to swing back their way.
asserted
Democrats → run → supporters
It is unclear, however, whether Democrats have sealed the deal with voters who lack strong allegiance to either party.
uncertain
who → seal → party
Martinez, for one, is not sure if he is going to vote at all in the midterms.
asserted
he → go → midterms
An Arizona farming town faces a transition
asserted
town → face → transition
Casa Grande, the town of 70,000 people where Martinez lives, sits at a crossroads between Phoenix and Tucson, an hour’s drive from each.
asserted
Martinez → live → each
Gated golf-course communities attract retirees.
asserted
communities → gate → retirees
Much of the town sits at the northern tip of Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, historically one of the most closely matched in the country.
asserted
Much → sit → country
Republican Juan Ciscomani is seeking a third term.
asserted
Ciscomani → seek → term
Two years ago, Ciscomani won by 2.5 percentage points and Trump won by less than 1 point.
asserted
Trump → win → point
This time, Ciscomani is subtly creating distance from Trump without directly criticizing the president or his policies.
asserted
Ciscomani → create → president
The congressman talks up his immigrant story — he was born in Mexico and moved to the U.S. as a kid — and frames himself as independent and bipartisan.
asserted
he → talk → himself
“I’m not a rubber stamp for anyone,” he says in one advertisement.
asserted
he → ’m → advertisement
If Ciscomani retains his seat, it will be thanks to people like Chris Durant, 61, who has been voting for Republicans in recent elections and will probably do so again next month.
“We really don’t worry about gas and prices and what not,” Durant said as he and his wife loaded their pickup with groceries for his mother-in-law.
asserted
he → retain → law
The former Marine emphasizes her own hardscrabble upbringing as the daughter of immigrant farmworkers who worked the fields close to Casa Grande.
asserted
who → emphasize → Grande
“People trust you if they know that you came from the community and understand their way of life,” Mendoza said in an interview earlier this year.
asserted
Mendoza → trust → interview
Most Hispanic voters disapprove of Trump
Trump made broad gains among Hispanics during the 2024 campaign that returned him to the White House.
asserted
that → disapprove → House
Back then, about 7 in 10 Hispanic voters were “very concerned” about the cost of food and groceries, slightly more than about two-thirds of voters overall, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide.
uncertain
voters → accord → voters
Trump had a clear advantage among those voters.
asserted
Trump → have → voters
Now, about 6 in 10 Hispanic voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of the presidency, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll from October.
uncertain
voters → disapprove → October
More than 7 in 10 disapprove of his performance on the economy.
asserted
10 → disapprove → economy
An AP-NORC poll conducted in September showed that Hispanic voters are more concerned than voters overall about the cost of groceries and housing, and 70% blame Trump’s policies more than factors outside his control for higher prices.
Their potential shift away from Republicans this year would be driven by anti-Trump sentiment, not a love of Democrats, said Mike Madrid, a political consultant who wrote “The Latino Century,” a book about Latino voters, and co-hosts “The Latino Vote” podcast.
asserted
who → conduct → podcast
Latinos are in the midst of a “dealignment,” rejecting strong associations with both parties because neither is speaking effectively to working class economic concerns, he said.
asserted
he → reject → concerns
“The Latino electorate is moving from a racial-and-ethnic voting bloc to an economic, pocketbook, class-based voter,” Madrid said.
asserted
Madrid → move → voter
“And the party that figures that out first is the party that will probably dominate for the next generation.”
asserted
that → figure → generation
Hispanics are about evenly split on their view of the Democratic Party, according to the October AP-NORC poll.
uncertain
Hispanics → split → poll
Their views of the Republican Party are more negative, with 55% having an unfavorable view and 38% having a favorable one.
asserted
% → have → one
On a recent morning in Denver, Democratic state lawmaker Manny Rutinel stood before a crowd of union carpenters and rolled up his sleeve to show off a scar.
asserted
Rutinel → stand → scar
The mark is from when he sold his blood more than 100 times to make ends meet.
asserted
ends → sell → blood
“I’m the son of a single mom.
asserted
I → ’m → mom
She came to America to give me the American Dream.
asserted
She → come → Dream
We worked hard for this country,” Rutinel told the boisterous crowd that fanned out to canvas for him in one of the country’s most-watched races.
asserted
that → work → races
Rutinel is challenging Republican Rep. Gabe Evans in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, which stretches from blue-collar Denver suburbs to energy-rich farm and ranchland in the northern stretch of the state.
asserted
which → challenge → state
Evans won by less than 1 percentage point while Trump won by 2 points.
asserted
Trump → win → points
…and 28 more, not listed.
The Aporia
