USAupdated 21m ago2 min read
Latino Voters Swing Toward Democrats, Helping Democrats Win House and Senate
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Latino voters swung heavily to Democrats in 2026 midterms, aiding gains in House and Senate. In Texas, California, Kansas and Colorado, Latinos shifted from GOP to Democrats.
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Latino shift reshapes midterms
Latino voters swung toward Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections, helping secure Democratic control of both the House and the Senate in the United States. Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez said, "Texas has been suddenly transformed into a battleground state," describing Texas as "the key link for achieving a realignment of national politics."
BBC Mundo framed the shift as a "blue wave" that led Democrats to sweep the U.S. midterm elections, citing exit polls from a consortium that includes the Associated Press and other major outlets. The BBC reported that Latino support for Democrats rose 11 percentage points since 2024 and erased the gains Donald Trump had made in his reelection.
Texas and California victories
Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Republican Governor Greg Abbott with a margin of over 700,000 votes, and she told supporters, "I am a daughter of the Rio Grande Valley."
Democracy Now! said California Governor-elect Xavier Becerra addressed supporters in Sacramento after he easily defeated Republican challenger Steve Hilton, and Becerra said, "Tonight, I have a message for all those who have been made to feel afraid."
BBC Mundo described Texas as the epicenter of the "tsunami," saying no Democrat had managed to win a statewide office in more than 30 years before this Tuesday.
BBC Mundo also said Gina Hinojosa, 52, became the first Latina to hold the position of governor in Texas, and it described James Talarico, 37, as winning a Texas seat in the U.S. Senate.
Numbers, turnout, and next election
Democracy Now! said the national turnout was 63% of registered voters, and it added that this was high by historic standards for a midterm but lower than the Biden midterm election of 2022 or the first Trump midterm elections of 2018. Democracy Now! reported that white voters made up 73% of all ballots cast and that they split almost evenly between Republicans and Democrats, while it said Black voters went from about 86% to 90% this year and Latinos moved from 60% Democratic to 64% in the national exit poll.
DW said the shift of Latinos toward the Democrats was around 15% nationally, and it quoted Julio Sevilla saying, "Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans can take the Latino vote for granted." DW also said it was "very likely" that in the next election Latino support for the Democrats would repeat, because the margins Democrats achieved were described as "scandalous" and Republicans would "hardly dodge it in 2028."