Georgia’s Latinos shift toward Democratic candidates, for now

DALTON, Ga. – The number of Georgia Latinos who cast a ballot this year dwarfed 2022’s midterm turnout, with the high cost of living and the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics top of mind for many of them.

GALEO, a nonpartisan group driving civic participation among the state’s Latinos, announced that 198,000 Latinos voted in the midterms, an increase of 78% from 2022, according to data gathered from the secretary of state. 

Polling from the New York Times/Siena found that 72% of Georgia Latinos supported Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff this year. A New York Times/Siena poll from 2024 showed 54% support for Democrat Kamala Harris, representing a shift of 18 percentage points. 

Jerry Gonzalez, CEO of GALEO and the GALEO Impact Fund, the political action committee that works to expand Latino political power in the state, said the swing could be attributed to a mix of first-time voters and former Republican voters with buyers’ remorse. But Democrats shouldn’t get comfortable, Gonzalez said. 

“Folks that have been studying this for a while in decades of study of the Latino electorate, they’re not calling it a realignment,” Gonzalez said. “They are calling it a misalignment, meaning Latinos are up for grabs, and really it is going to be up to the parties to make sure that they are addressing the issues that are important to Latinos.”

Northwest Georgia resident Fredy Lara, who voted for the first time, said it felt necessary to turn out. The semiprofessional soccer player on the Chattanooga Red Wolves said he was motivated to vote by the aggressive immigration enforcement tactics he has witnessed.

Lara said his dad, an immigrant with a green card, was pulled aside by immigration enforcement agents at a park with Lara’s family in view. Lara’s dad was not taken into custody, but the moment stuck with him.

“It’s just not right,” Lara said. “He had an interaction with ICE and he was just an innocent man.”

Whitfield County, where Lara lives along with a large number of Latino voters, saw the largest swing left – a shift of 31 percentage points – out of any other county, according to data analyzed by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. President Donald Trump won Whitfield by 44 points in 2024. Congressman Mike Collins, the Republican who challenged Ossoff, did win the county, but by 13 points. 

Affordability was also a top concern for Latinos and other electorates across the country. Polling by The Associated Press showed voters across all demographics were most concerned by the state of the economy. Democrats have a responsibility to deliver on that at all levels of government, said Gonzalez with GALEO.

Another Dalton resident, Denise Calvillo, said an important issue on her mind, outside of immigration, was affordability. She said she voted for Democrats up and down the ballot.

“I’m tired of surviving. I just feel like I want to live,” Calvillo said.

Turnout among Hispanics 

Of Georgia’s 8 million registered voters, about 5% are Latino, according to the most recent data from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office. The number has grown by 267,614, or 210%, in the last 10 years. Not only are Georgia’s Latinos becoming increasingly politically active, but they are turning out in higher numbers too.

“What we saw this election cycle, in those precincts with high density of Latinos, they outpace the statewide average of voter participation rate,” Gonzalez said. “So Latino’s turned out to vote in stronger numbers in Georgia than the other demographics.”

A number of Hispanic candidates were elected to office around Atlanta, including Laura Murvartian for state Senate, Juan Estrada in the state House, Michael Garza for the Cobb County school board and Mo Ivory as Fulton County Commission chair. 

Gonzalez said GALEO is working to encourage more Latino candidates to run for office during the next election cycle.