Democrats advised to urgently recalibrate Latino outreach at SXSW panel
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Univision executive Ignacio Meyer at Axios House at SXSW on Saturday. Photo: Rick Cortez for Axios
Democrats must commit to tailored, economically focused messaging to win back Latino voters in the 2026 midterms, Univision executive Ignacio Meyer said Saturday at Axios House at SXSW.
Why it matters: Latinos — the up-for-grabs voting force that could decide 2026's razor-thin congressional battles — propelled President Trump's 2024 victory with record GOP support, about 48% nationally.
- "Hispanic voters are largely sophisticated or largely independent, and they want to be swayed by issues," Meyer said.
- "They do not want to be spoken to about partisan politics."
State of play: Meyer called it a "big disconnect" that politicians ignore Latinos' cultural clout in news, sports and music, despite their explosive growth.
- And he slammed "check-the-box" tactics like late spending and Google Translate ads, noting half of Latinos want Spanish messaging but few civil servants deliver it consistently.
Zoom out: Politicians oversimplify a non-monolithic audience, the Univision exec said, adding that issues resonate differently for someone on the West Coast with Mexican parents than for a Caribbean immigrant.
- "Language is important. Culture is more important."
- Meyer advised politicians to reach Latino voters in the tailored way his company approaches it through soccer, music and 300+ local radio stations.
Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), who also spoke at the SXSW panel on voting power in Latino communities, said Trump's share of Latino support in the last election exposed Democrats' working-class drift.
- "Folks said, 'are Democrats going to make sure that I'm not having to check my bank statement, my bank account, before I go to the grocery store,'" Casar said.
Zoom in: In five rural majority-Latino Texas counties, Democratic primary turnout exceeded 2024 general election votes — unseen since 1992 — Casar said.
- "And so guys, this is really a moment for us here in Travis County, where we're sitting right now," he said.
- Casar added that there's an opportunity to win for Democrats "if people know we're going to bring down their prices and put money in their pocket."
The bottom line: Meyer said, "Study, commit and be consistent. Also make sure that you are not oversimplifying the message."
- "You would not address the general market with one message, one media outlet. You would make sure you had a message that would cut across all of the platforms and then, you speak to them [...] in a voice that is authentic to them."
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