Celebrating National
Hispanic Heritage Month
National Hispanic Heritage Month is recognized from September 15 through October 15, and this year, there’s a lot to celebrate in Latino political momentum and leadership. We’re looking at where Latino voters stand heading into midterms, why authentic outreach is critical and what it actually requires, and recognizing a few Latino leaders on the ballot and already in office.
We’re proud of the work we’ve done alongside Latino candidates over the years. Take a look back at the candidates we partnered with in 2024 here.
A Shifting Electorate Heading Into Midterms
In 2024, Hispanic voters were nearly split down the middle: 48% backed Trump and 51% backed Harris. Two years later, that’s no longer the case. A Hart Research/TelevisaUnivision poll from August 2026 of 17 competitive House districts found Democrats leading the generic congressional ballot 58% to 35%, and 11% of Latino voters who backed Trump in 2024 now say they plan to vote Democratic this year.
Two issues appear to be driving that shift: the cost of living and immigration. On the economy, 62% of Latino voters in the survey said they trust Democrats in Congress to bring costs down, compared with 36% for Republicans, a reversal from 2024, when cost concerns worked in Trump’s favor. On immigration, 62% disapprove of the administration’s handling of enforcement and deportations, and ICE itself carries a 64% unfavorable rating, including 65% among Latino independents.
The picture looks similar nationally. Pew Research’s July 2026 midterm survey found Hispanic voters favoring the Democratic candidate 49% to 26%, with 24% still undecided, a clear shift since 2024.
What that movement shows is a responsive electorate that does not settle. For campaigns, that means outreach has to be authentic and culturally competent, built around the generations, dialects, and regions that shape how Latino voters engage.
Closing the Outreach Gap
A TelevisaUnivision survey conducted by the Harris Poll found that 42% of Latino voters in Texas would be more likely to support a candidate who speaks to them directly in Spanish, yet 38% said they rarely or never see political ads relevant to Latino voters at all. Among those who did see ads, only 21% recalled seeing them on Spanish-language television.
Part of that disconnect is that campaigns often treat language as one-size-fits-all instead of a set of distinct preferences. Voters differ in whether they prefer Spanish, English, a specific dialect, or a mix of both, so a campaign running one Spanish-language ad and one English-language ad isn’t necessarily reaching the people who need to hear from it. It’s reaching whoever happens to fit the assumption behind each version.
Closing that gap means matching creative and channel to how someone actually consumes information, rather than defaulting to broad assumptions. DSPolitical’s Spanish Language Preference Model, built with INTRVL, was designed around that idea, sorting voters by their language preference so campaigns can match outreach accordingly instead of relying on guesswork. In a randomized controlled trial, that approach increased turnout by 1.05% overall, with larger gains among young voters (1.82%) and men (1.44%).
Heading into a competitive midterm cycle, authentic outreach has to be a priority, not an afterthought. This is an electorate actively watching who shows up for them, and who doesn’t.
Spotlight on Latino Leadership
Several Latino leaders are stepping into this moment, both running for higher office and already serving in it. State Representative Gina Hinojosa won the Democratic primary for Texas governor and is running to become the state’s first Latina governor. An August 2026 Texas Pulse poll had her within a single point of incumbent Greg Abbott, 46% to 45%, down from a six-point Abbott lead just two months earlier in the same poll.
In Arizona, Senator Ruben Gallego, the state’s first Latino senator, is building on his 2024 win with a new legislative push. This month he released a plan to rebuild federal support for public education, including restoring Title I funding for low-income districts and addressing the teacher shortage nationwide.
Their work is a reminder that Latino representation in government keeps expanding, both on the ballot and in the policy being shaped right now.
Looking Ahead
The data, the outreach gap, and the leaders on the ballot all point to the same thing: Latino voters and leaders are shaping this political moment, and that’s worth celebrating well beyond a single election cycle. This Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re glad to recognize the communities, candidates, and voters behind that story.