Latino Support for Donald Trump in Pennsylvania Could Help Him Win the State

READING — After Sylvia Aviles finished eating chicken soup at a 4th & Penn St. restaurant on a recent Monday afternoon, she went outside and ran into Erlan Dobronsky, who was teaching a financial literacy class she had recently attended at Alvernia University.

They stopped and talked about the presidential election. Aviles, 71, said she feels demoralized by both parties, largely because of their mutual failure to reform immigration policy and legally bring in more immigrants who could stimulate the economy. Dobronsky, 54, supports Vice President Kamala Harris but disagrees, saying too many people have “the misconception that with immigration the country will fall.”

“But I will say this,” he added, “the border must be protected.”

“Oh, yes. I agree,” said Aviles, who, like Dobronsky, is a naturalized citizen. “I don’t agree that everyone who wants to come here should come.”

“It has to be fair because some people wait a long, long time,” said Dobronsky, whose sister has been trying to emigrate from Ecuador for 15 years.

Aviles is from Mexico City. Dobronsky was born in Ecuador. The restaurant in downtown Reading was Dominican.

The diversity of those times was typical of Reading, a post-industrial town that had become more than two-thirds of Latinos. This demographic shift did not drastically change the city’s party division, with Democrats still maintaining a dominant position.

But an Inquirer analysis of 2020 election results reveals that former President Donald Trump gained support among Latino voters in Reading and other tiny towns with growing Latino populations.

The question this year is whether Trump can continue that trend, or whether he has already peaked. How Hispanic Pennsylvanians vote in November will be key to determining whether Trump or Harris wins Pennsylvania — and the White House.

President Joe Biden won Reading with 72% of the vote in 2020. But Trump improved on his performance from 2016, when Hillary Clinton won 78%. In 42 of Reading’s 44 precincts, Donald Trump won more votes than he did in 2016, according to an Inquirer analysis of election results. And in 38 precincts, Biden won fewer votes than Clinton.

Reading is not alone. The Latino population has grown over the past three decades in a number of cities along the “222 corridor,” named for a section of U.S. 222 that includes Allentown, Hazleton, Reading and Lancaster. In each of those cities, the Republican vote increased in 2020.

The Republican Party’s appeal among Latino voters in the Trump era also hinges on a fundamental question: How can a party that has dedicated itself to the fate of one deeply divisive and immigrant-inspiring man also become more welcoming?

Republican Berks County Commissioner Michael Rivera said Trump could gain more support among Latino voters but noted that “the message is important.”

“Going back to the economy and the message that, you know what, everybody matters,” he said. “It’s not about whether you’re white or black or Latino. Everybody matters. Again, we are a nation of immigrants. And I believe that message has to be one of inclusivity.”

Aviles said she thinks some Latinos who support Trump are interested in the way he displays his wealth.

“It’s like they see the dollar sign on his face,” she said, “and that’s why they think they’ll be better off with him than with anyone else.”

“The Only Trump Supporter in Reading”

Earlier this month, posters were hung in shop windows. one Reading home proclaimed: “Latinos for Trump” and “DISHONESTY or DEMENTIA?”

When the doors opened, Rafaela Gomez emerged wearing a radiant red dress printed with the iconic image of Trump raising his fist after surviving the attack in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Gomez, 44, was born in the Dominican Republic and works as a detailer for a car rental company. She knows her enthusiasm for Trump makes her an outlier in the area — a Democratic state representative lives next door — but she wants to show that you can be Latina and support the former president.

“I know they look at it the same way my mom does, that Democrats are here to help immigrants, but that’s not really [the case] because they make all the promises but they don’t keep them,” she said. “It’s not right with open borders because we have a lot of corrupt [people] coming into our country. And that’s why we have a border policy, so they can get through it the right way, like I did.”

It’s unclear whether Trump will be able to maintain the momentum he gained among Latino voters in 2020. Gomez said she believes some Latinos secretly support Trump but won’t admit it, and she hopes he wins Pennsylvania.

She added, however, that she did not feel much support for the former president in her area.

“I feel like I’m the only Trump supporter in Reading,” she said.

“Don’t take it for granted”

Reading Mayor Eddie Morán attended the groundbreaking ceremony last week, apparently determined to shake the hand of every attendee.

“Great turnout,” he muttered to himself between greetings. “Let me say hi to the rest of you here.”

Morán, a Democrat, looked like a mayor from central casting as he celebrated the renovation of a playground on the city’s underserved South Side. But to Reading, Morán is anything but normal.

Born in Puerto Rico, Morán became the first Latino mayor in Reading’s history in 2019. Morán said his victory and the election of other Latino officials helped engage voters.

“The Latino community is voting for passion,” he said. “They’re voting for something that matters to them.”

Rising voter turnout among Latinos, who emigrated mainly from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Mexico but also from Colombia, Ecuador and other countries, largely helped Democrats.

But Morán said he worries about whether the party will do enough to keep them in line. The issues he sees as most concerning to Latino voters are housing, economic development and jobs that support families.

While Morán doesn’t believe the GOP’s message will resonate with Latinos, he noted that the Trump campaign has opened an office in Reading — coincidentally, in Morán’s former campaign office — and is hiring volunteers to knock on doors.

“Don’t just take it for granted and think they’re going to go out and vote Democrat right away,” Morán said. “I would be a little concerned about that.”

As he spoke, four children ran up to the mayor and began lobbying for changes to the playground renovation plan.

“Can you build a water park?” one of the girls asked.

“You know, I’m not sure if that was in the plan,” he said, “but I’ll definitely consider it.”

“A Message of Inclusivity”

Rivera, a Berks County commissioner, is one of the most prominent Latino Republicans in the Reading area. But after the 2020 election, the local GOP party wanted to get rid of him.

Rivera, who calls himself Dutch-Rican because his father is Puerto Rican and his mother is of Pennsylvania Dutch descent, declined to repeat Trump’s words. baseless claim that the election was stolenWhen he ran for re-election last year, he faced a more conservative opponent in the primary but kept his seat.

Meanwhile, local Democrats have also targeted Rivera for issues related to the 2020 election. The GOP-controlled Board of Commissioners after the election rejected the state’s request to release information about undated absentee ballots that recent court rulings said shouldn’t be counted, leading to accusations that Rivera and other officials worked to undermine the vote.

“Last year wasn’t pleasant,” Rivera said.

Although Trump’s election denial is at the heart of Rivera’s problems, the commissioner took part in Campaign office opens in Reading this year. It’s clear, he said, that the national Republican Party sees the Latino vote as a huge opportunity this year.

“The Republican Party saw the need and importance of having an office here — one that could reach out to the Latino community and understand the needs of the community here, because every community is different,” Rivera said in an interview this month at Trump’s campaign office in Reading.

Asked whether he thought Trump’s message this year had been effective in reaching Latino voters, Rivera expressed doubt.

“I didn’t really follow it that much, to be honest. I was involved in what I had to do at the office,” he said, “so, you know, to be honest, I didn’t really see much of it on TV.”