Hosts Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito sit down with Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times columnist and their resident Latino voter guru, to ask where the Latino vote stands ahead of the midterms and why we’re still the last true swing voters. They start with Gustavo’s column on the taco stand Karen, a Santa Clarita woman who went viral for berating taqueros and then felt abandoned by the conservatives she expected to defend her. From there, they look at Latino Trump voters with buyer’s remorse, from South Texas to the gas pump, and why Gustavo argues that shaming them is no way to win them back. Then they rewind. Gustavo explains how Prop 187 in 1994 turned a generation of Latinos into Democrats while teaching Republicans that anti-immigrant politics work. He also breaks down how the Democrats’ “demographics as destiny” playbook, and the “professional Latinos” behind it, fumbled the vote, from Hillary’s “10 ways she’s like your abuelita” to Bernie’s rallies in Latino neighborhoods. Then they go state by state: Texas, where a gerrymander built on a Latino shift to the right may be backfiring; Miami, where Rep. María Elvira Salazar is distancing herself from Trump; and California, from the governor’s race to the tight L.A. mayoral race between Karen Bass and Nithya Raman, where Latino voters are split by generation. Plus: why politicians keep showing up at lowrider shows, the time Gustavo took Steve Hilton to King Taco with his dad, and how much Spencer Pratt voters could matter in L.A. And because this is De Los Podcast, they end with Gustavo’s prediction: we’re going to disappoint everyone. Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro. 🎙 De Los Podcast drops new episodes every week on YouTube and all major podcast platforms. Subscribe so you never miss a conversation.
Hosts Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito sit down with Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times columnist and their resident Latino voter guru, to ask where the Latino vote stands ahead of the midterms and why we’re still the last true swing voters.
They start with Gustavo’s column on the taco stand Karen, a Santa Clarita woman who went viral for berating taqueros and then felt abandoned by the conservatives she expected to defend her. From there, they look at Latino Trump voters with buyer’s remorse, from South Texas to the gas pump, and why Gustavo argues that shaming them is no way to win them back.
Then they rewind. Gustavo explains how Prop 187 in 1994 turned a generation of Latinos into Democrats while teaching Republicans that anti-immigrant politics work. He also breaks down how the Democrats’ “demographics as destiny” playbook, and the “professional Latinos” behind it, fumbled the vote, from Hillary’s “10 ways she’s like your abuelita” to Bernie’s rallies in Latino neighborhoods.
Then they go state by state: Texas, where a gerrymander built on a Latino shift to the right may be backfiring; Miami, where Rep. María Elvira Salazar is distancing herself from Trump; and California, from the governor’s race to the tight L.A. mayoral race between Karen Bass and Nithya Raman, where Latino voters are split by generation.
Plus: why politicians keep showing up at lowrider shows, the time Gustavo took Steve Hilton to King Taco with his dad, and how much Spencer Pratt voters could matter in L.A.
And because this is De Los Podcast, they end with Gustavo’s prediction: we’re going to disappoint everyone.
Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro.
🎙 De Los Podcast drops new episodes every week on YouTube and all major podcast platforms. Subscribe so you never miss a conversation.