On Nov. 6, the winner of the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump was announced. It left everyone with the question: how did he win? What went wrong for Harris?
The Latin American population in the states make up a vibrant community among voters in the U.S., including in key battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Florida and Arizona, which all turned red this election.
According to the Miami Herald, Trump put more effort than Harris in courting specific Hispanic groups, such as Cuban Americans and Puerto Ricans in Florida, for the state has 30 electoral votes. According to statistics from NBC Chicago, in 2020, 32% of Latinos supported Trump compared to 45% in 2024. The stark difference showcases how important key issues were to Latin American voters, as according to NBC Chicago,“cost of living, jobs and the economy and housing costs were very key issues that Harris didn’t focus on.” These issues were so important to Latin Americans that one in four Latino voters were voting for the first time, NBC Chicago further stated.
Professor Thomas Hayes, who teaches Intro to American Politics and The Politics of Inequality at the University of Connecticut, believes identity can play an important role in elections.
“Identity politics can be observed among Republicans as well,” Hayes said. “For instance, public opinion surveys show that Democrats are more likely to identify groups like African Americans or women as facing discrimination, while Republicans often cite white people or Christians. This reflects how identities are activated by elected officials across the political spectrum.”
Pennsylvania, Florida and Arizona weren’t the only key battleground states that Trump won. Michigan played a key role in this election as well.
According to Black Voice News, Dearborn, Michigan is home to the country’s largest Arab American diaspora. In Hamtramck, Dearborn and Dearborn Heights, Harris reportedly received “at least 22,000 fewer votes than Biden did in the previous election,” according to an article by The Guardian. These same cities represent nearly 27% of the 81,000-vote difference between Harris and Trump in the state.
In Michigan, 53% of Muslim Americans voted for Jill Stein, who is known as a strong advocate for Palestine. However, the same poll showed 21% of Muslims cast a ballot for Trump and 20.3% for Harris. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), a U.S. representative for Michigan’s 12th district and a strong advocate for Palestine, is the first Palestinian American woman to serve in Congress and one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress. Tlaib, a Democrat, won in a state that Harris lost in. According to PBS News, the Israel-Gaza war has been a key issue for many Arab and Muslim Americans that cost Harris the election.
News outlets played another major role in swinging people. Hayes also believes that the media holds an important role in elections.
“People reading news in the right-wing media ecosystem tend not to be sharing news from The Washington Post, for example, or PBS, so they’re not seeing a lot of the things that are more critical of Trump,” Hayes said.
Hayes talked about how the type of media people consume can shape their political views. He pointed out that “if you read a newspaper – online or print – or if you watch network news, you’re much more likely to vote for Harris,” while “if you got your news on YouTube, Twitter or podcasts, you’re much more likely to vote for Trump.”
Hayes also touched on how the media, regardless of political leaning, had been hard on the Biden-Harris administration when it came to the economy.
“Media outlets from both sides of the spectrum were hammering the administration on the economy for the past three years,” Hayes said, adding that “52% of people said yes, we’re in a recession” just two days before the election.
Hayes also said he conducted a survey in one of his classes to assess the general predictions of UConn students. Most of his students predicted Harris would win the election.
“You know, I asked my class—I did like a Slido survey the day before the election or two days before the election—Who do you think is going to win? And two-thirds of them thought Kamala Harris was going to win,” Hayes said.
Harris was in a tough spot this election, a BBC article stated. She had to critique the Biden administration without it seeming like she was undermining as she was still the vice president. The article further stated that Harris tried to stray away from Biden’s policies, though she also could not promote them on the campaign trail as Biden’s approval ratings were heavily dropping, according to an article by Politico. As a result, Harris attacked Trump’s policies, especially those on abortion, instead of focusing on what she would do for the country and what she would change from what was already going on, the BBC article further suggests. According to an Edison Research exit poll, only 14% of voters cited abortion as their top issue in the White House race, while 32% cited the economy. According to the BBC article, Harris failed to convince voters she would handle economic concerns.