Internewscast Journal
  • Home
  • US News
  • Local News
  • Health
  • People
  • Guest Post
  • Support Our Cause
Internewscast Journal
  • Home
  • US News
  • Local News
  • Health
  • People
  • Guest Post
  • Support Our Cause
Home Local news The Economy’s Impact: New Jersey Governor’s Race Challenges Democrats’ Strategy to Reengage Latino Voters
  • Local news

The Economy’s Impact: New Jersey Governor’s Race Challenges Democrats’ Strategy to Reengage Latino Voters

    It’s the economy, estúpido: New Jersey governor's race tests Democrats' efforts to win back Latinos
    Up next
    The reason Omaze's youngest ever winner is selling her £3m mansion
    Why Omaze’s Youngest Winner is Putting Her £3 Million Mansion Up for Sale
    Published on 08 June 2025
    Author
    Internewscast
    Tags
    • Alina Habba,
    • Ana Maria Hill,
    • back,
    • Chris Russell,
    • Democrats039,
    • Donald Trump,
    • Economy,
    • Efforts,
    • estúpido,
    • ethnicity,
    • governor039s,
    • its,
    • Jack Ciattarelli,
    • jersey,
    • Joshua Gottheimer,
    • Latinos,
    • Laura Matos,
    • New,
    • Patricia Campos-Medina,
    • Phil Murphy,
    • Politics,
    • race,
    • Ras Baraka,
    • Stephen M. Sweeney,
    • Steven Fulop,
    • tests,
    • The,
    • win
    Share this @internewscast.com
    FacebookXRedditPinterest

    NEWARK, N.J. – A congresswoman with a background as a U.S. Navy helicopter pilot has received the support of her state’s top Hispanic official. Meanwhile, a mayor is drawing attention to his past detention by immigration authorities. A congressman took his campaign to a Latino grocery store, and another mayor is making the most of his self-learned Spanish during his campaign.

    The primary election for New Jersey’s governor is becoming a pivotal moment for Democrats aiming to win back Latino voters across the country. It underscores difficulties in historically Democratic regions, where the decrease in Hispanic support for the party in 2024 was even starker than in swing states. President Donald Trump managed to decrease Democratic advantages in New Jersey and New York, even flipping some areas with large Latino populations that he had previously lost by margins of 30 to 50 percentage points in the 2016 election.

    The Democratic gubernatorial primary is shaping up with seasoned candidates from various public service positions, including U.S. Representatives Josh Gottheimer and Mikie Sherrill, Steven Fulop, the Mayor of Jersey City, Ras Baraka, the Mayor of Newark, Sean Spiller, the head of the New Jersey Education Association and former Mayor of Montclair, and former state Senate President Steve Sweeney.

    Although Trump made closing U.S. borders a central promise of his campaign, his economic message hit home with Latinos. More Hispanics saw inflation as the most important concern last fall than white voters, AP VoteCast showed. That lesson has been taken to heart in this year’s campaign, with strategists, unions, organizers and politicians pivoting away from immigration and putting pocketbook concerns at the forefront of their appeals.

    “At the end of the day, if you’re worried about paying your bills and being safe at night, everything else is secondary,” Rep. Gottheimer said in an interview. “I think that is front and center in the Latino community.”

    Warning signs for Democrats

    Laura Matos, a Democratic National Committee member from New Jersey and board member of Latina Civic Action, said the party is still finding its way with Hispanic voters, warning that support can’t be taken for granted even when Democrats win most of it.

    While there was a big rightward swing among Hispanics in Texas and Florida in 2024, it was similarly pronounced in blue states like New Jersey and New York. Here, 43% of Latino voters supported Trump, up from 28% in 2020. In New York, 36% of Latino voters supported Trump, up from 25% in 2020, according to AP VoteCast.

    Understanding that all Latino voters don’t think or vote alike helps. Compared to the 2020 election, Trump gained significantly with Dominican voters, where he went from 31% to 43% of support. Of the 2 million Latinos in New Jersey, more than 375,000 are Dominican, making up the second largest Hispanic group in New Jersey, after Puerto Ricans, a group where Trump also increased his support from 31% to 39%, the survey showed.

    But sometimes candidates overthink such targeted appeals.

    “The November election results in parts of New Jersey should serve as a big warning sign that Democrats need to think about how they’re communicating with some of these voters,” Matos said.

    Sherrill’s campaign manager acknowledged in a memo to supporters last month that “there is a real risk of a Republican winning in November.” New Jersey tilts Democratic in presidential and Senate elections, but Republicans have won the governorship in recent decades.

    Focusing on the economy

    Strategists, organizers, union leaders and some candidates agree that what they are hearing from Latinos is consistent with the concerns of other working class voters.

    Ana Maria Hill, of Colombian and Mexican descent, is the New Jersey state director of the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, where half of the members are Hispanic. Hill says raising the minimum wage and imposing new regulations to cap rent increases are popular among those she has been calling to support Newark Mayor Baraka. She says Democrats lost ground by not acknowledging real-world struggles that hit Latinos hard after inflation spiked following the pandemic.

    “I think where we lost voters last year was when workers asked ‘What’s going on with the economy?’ We said ‘the economy is great.’ And it could be true, but it’s also true that eggs cost $10, right? It’s also true that a gallon of milk costs $6.”

    Taking that lesson to heart, Gottheimer held a press conference at a Latino supermarket in Elizabeth, a vibrant Latino hub south of Newark, against a backdrop of bottles of a corn oil used in many Hispanic kitchens. Sherrill headed to a Colombian restaurant, also in Elizabeth, on Saturday for a ‘Get Out the Vote’ rally.

    One of her advisers, Patricia Campos-Medina, a labor activist who ran for the U.S. Senate last year, said candidates who visit Latino businesses and talk about the economic challenges the way Sherrill has done show they get it.

    “She has a message that covers a lot of big issues. But when it comes to Latinos, we’ve been focusing on the economy, affordable housing, transportation, and small business growth,” Campos-Medina said.

    When state Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz, the state’s highest-ranking Hispanic official, endorsed Sherrill last week, she cited her advocacy for affordable child care directly, for instance.

    A candidate’s arrest

    Trump’s four months in office have been defined by his aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration. That gave Baraka a chance to seize the spotlight on a non-economic issue as an advocate for immigrant residents in Newark. He was arrested while trying to join an oversight tour of a 1,000-bed immigrant detention center. A trespass charge was later dropped, but he sued interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba over the dropped prosecution last week.

    “I think all this stuff is designed to be a distraction,” he said recently. “But I also think that us not responding is consent. Our silence is consent. If we continue to allow these people to do these things and get away with it, right, they will continue to do them over and over and over again.”

    In one of his final campaign ads in Spanish, he used footage from the arrest and the demonstrations to cast himself as a reluctant warrior, with text over the images saying he is “El Único,” Spanish for “the only one,” who confronts Trump.

    Confident Republicans

    Former state assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli is making his third bid for governor, and Trump’s backing may help. But Chris Russell, a Ciattarelli campaign consultant, said Democrats’ habit of misreading Latino voters matters, too.

    “Democrats believe the key to winning these folks over is identity politics.” He added: “They’re missing the boat.”

    Ciattarelli faces four challengers for the GOP nomination in Tuesday’s primary.

    During a telephone rally for Ciattarelli last week, Trump called New Jersey a “high-tax, high-crime sanctuary state,” accusing local officials of not cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

    But Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, another contender for the Democratic nomination, said he is not entirely convinced the Democratic party will keep losing support in New Jersey. He thinks the gubernatorial race will be a referendum on current Gov. Phil Murphy. Immigration and the economy may enter some Hispanic voters’ thinking, but how that plays out is anybody’s guess.

    “The Latino community is two things in New Jersey. It is growing significantly, and it is a jump ball. There’s nobody that has an absolute inside track.”

    —-

    Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

    Share this @internewscast.com
    FacebookXRedditPinterest
    You May Also Like
    Beaufort starting $6.9 million stormwater project off Waterfront
    • Local news

    Beaufort Launches Major $6.9 Million Stormwater Initiative to Protect Waterfront

    The city of Beaufort, South Carolina, has commenced construction work along the…
    • Internewscast
    • October 23, 2025

    Grainger County Resident Faces $57,000 Repayment Following Social Security Overpayment Ruling

    In Grainger County, Tennessee, a woman with disabilities has been hit with…
    • Internewscast
    • October 23, 2025
    Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show is not being reconsidered, NFL commissioner says
    • Local news

    Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Snub Finalized: NFL Confirms No Reconsideration

    NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL remains steadfast in its decision to…
    • Internewscast
    • October 22, 2025

    Bail Determined for Suspect in Johnson City Waffle House Shooting Incident

    WASHINGTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — The individual accused of firing multiple shots…
    • Internewscast
    • October 23, 2025
    WATCH LIVE at 9:30 p.m.: SpaceX rocket launch from Florida’s coast
    • Local news

    Tune In at 9:30 p.m.: Florida’s Coast Set for Spectacular SpaceX Rocket Launch

    BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – On Wednesday, SpaceX is set to embark on…
    • Internewscast
    • October 22, 2025
    Danville soccer playing in memory of athletic director Gary Gritton
    • Local news

    Honoring a Legacy: Danville Soccer Pays Tribute to Beloved Athletic Director Gary Gritton

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) – While a regional semifinal win might not be…
    • Internewscast
    • October 23, 2025
    VIDEO: Alligator discovered in hallway at Orlando apartment complex
    • Local news

    Watch: Unexpected Alligator Encounter in Orlando Apartment Hallway!

    ORLANDO, Fla. – In an unusual turn of events on Tuesday night,…
    • Internewscast
    • October 23, 2025
    Defense Department strikes alleged narco boat in the Pacific
    • Local news

    U.S. Defense Department Targets and Destroys Alleged Narco Vessel in Pacific Operation

    On Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth revealed that the department executed…
    • Internewscast
    • October 22, 2025

    Yoders Country Market Implements Rounding Policy to Nearest Nickel

    BULLS GAP, Tenn. (WJHL) — Shoppers using cash at Yoders Country Market…
    • Internewscast
    • October 23, 2025
    Arrest made in connection to missing Rankin man after possible human remains found
    • Local news

    Arrest Linked to Missing Rankin Man Case Following Discovery of Possible Human Remains

    In a chilling turn of events more than a year after his…
    • Internewscast
    • October 22, 2025
    US strikes two more alleged drug-carrying boats, this time in the Pacific Ocean
    • Local news

    U.S. Intercepts Two Additional Suspected Drug Vessels in Pacific Ocean Operation

    The U.S. military expanded its crackdown on drug trafficking in South America…
    • Internewscast
    • October 23, 2025
    Prosecutors: Alicia Andrews helped plan 'hellish onslaught' that killed rapper Julio Foolio in Tampa
    • Local news

    Prosecutors Unveil Shocking Details: Alicia Andrews Accused in Orchestrating Deadly Attack on Rapper Julio Foolio in Tampa

    TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Alicia Andrews, a 22-year-old, played a significant role…
    • Internewscast
    • October 22, 2025
    Here's where the jewels stolen from the Louvre Museum might end up
    • Local news

    Unveiling the Mystery: Potential Destinations for the Stolen Louvre Jewels

    NEW YORK (AP) — As the world reels from a daring heist…
    • Internewscast
    • October 23, 2025
    Astonishing moment gender-row boxer smirks as opponent throws in towel
    • News

    Boxer Caught Smiling as Opponent Concedes in Controversial Gender Debate Match

    During a dramatic moment at the National Games, Lin Yu-ting, a renowned…
    • Internewscast
    • October 23, 2025
    Doctor suspended for damaging petrol pumps in Just Stop Oil protest
    • News

    Doctor’s Shocking Act: Petrol Pump Vandalism in Bold Just Stop Oil Protest

    A doctor involved in a protest that involved damaging petrol pumps on…
    • Internewscast
    • October 23, 2025
    Broadway musicians reach tentative labor deal, averting a strike
    • US

    Broadway Musicians Secure Tentative Labor Agreement, Preventing Potential Strike

    NEW YORK (AP) — In a significant move to keep the show…
    • Internewscast
    • October 23, 2025
    Internewscast Journal
    • Home
    • Privacy Policy
    • DMCA Notice
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Guest Post
    • Support Our Cause
    Copyright 2023. All Right Reserverd.