A woman wearing a MAGA hat at a "Latinos for Trump" event in Kissimmee, Florida on January 16, 2020 (Image: Shutterstock)
In 2024, Latino voters were a key bloc of the MAGA coalition that put President Donald Trump back in the White House. Now, Latino voters are fleeing the Republican Party en masse, which may spell serious trouble for the GOP in future elections.
That's according to a Wednesday analysis by MS NOW columnist Ja'han Jones, who wrote that several prominent Republicans who represent Latino communities are trying to sound the alarm about their party's electoral dilemma, but with mixed results. As Jones explained, Florida Republican state senator Ileana Garcia – who founded Latinas for Trump — warned that Republicans were poised to "lose the midterm elections because of [White House deputy chief of staff] Stephen Miller." Garcia told the New York Times that Miller's hardline approach to enforcing immigration laws was rapidly turning away Latinos.
"“It’s gone too far,” Garcia said following the fatal shooting of 37 year-old Minneapolis, Minnesota resident Alex Pretti. “What happened Saturday was abhorrent.”
Garcia's comments prompted ridicule from Miller's wife, Katie, who claimed that Garcia had been fired from Trump's first administration due to frequent absences. The Florida lawmaker countered by tweeting at Katie Miller: "Invite me to your podcast so we can have a candid discussion about what truly transpired and how you labeled your then-boyfriend a racist when you were upset that he treated you poorly and me as a mere token Hispanic for the administration. Let’s discuss who was responsible for the leaks in the White House, and how you helped carve the floor out from under then-Secretary Kirsten Nielsen."
Jones reminded readers that while Garcia's claims are unproven, they nonetheless expose a massive and growing rift between Trump and his 2024 coalition of Latino voters. The MS NOW columnist also observed that Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) is anxious about the Republican Party's rapidly shrinking support from Latinos. On Tuesday, Salazar reposted her own tweet following the November 2025 elections — in which Democratic candidates largely won lopsided victories – to again urge her party to change course in order to win back Latinos.
"I warned about this months ago, before the headlines caught up. Today we are watching it unfold in real time," she wrote. "Hispanics are leaving the GOP in large numbers, and pretending otherwise won’t fix it. As Republicans, we must reverse course and act now."
Jones noted that comments on Salazar's post were largely dismissive, and argued that if Republicans continue to take their 2024 Latino coalition for granted, it could prove to be costly in both 2026 and 2028.
"That may not matter to Trump, who isn’t going to be on the ballot, but it should be a wake-up call for the Republicans who will be," Jones wrote.
