2026 Elections and Latino Voters

The LIBRE Initiative Action, a conservative-leaning Latino political organization, is moving to endorse Republican Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio and former RNC Chair Michael Whatley in North Carolina in 2026 Senate races that could decide control of the chamber. LIBRE senior adviser Daniel Garza told CBS News the group will focus its voter education and grassroots outreach on economic issues—jobs, inflation, taxes, energy and health-care regulation—which its internal polling shows are the top priorities for Latino citizens. The group’s effort comes amid signs that Republican gains with Latino voters under Donald Trump may be slipping, with recent elections in Texas, New Jersey and Virginia showing heavily Latino areas swinging or solidifying Democratic and polls indicating most Latinos now disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy and immigration. Latino populations in Ohio and North Carolina are growing quickly, and strategists in both parties see them as potential 'wild card' voters who could tip close races between Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown in Ohio and Whatley and Democrat Roy Cooper in North Carolina. The article underscores that Latino turnout has remained high since 2024, forcing both parties to invest heavily in direct, one-on-one persuasion in battleground states where a relatively small shift among Latino voters could alter the balance of power in the Senate for Trump’s final two years.