LAS VEGAS — With polls showing her losing ground among Latinos, Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday attempted to earn their support with a town hall hosted by Univision, the largest American Spanish-language network.
Over the course of an hour, the Vice President answered questions on immigration, the economy, and reproductive rights from the crowd in Las Vegas. In an emotional moment, a woman was in tears as she told the story of her mother, who she said died six weeks ago without having ever achieved legal status in the United States.
Harris vowed, if elected, to work on fixing the pathway to citizenship for hardworking people while securing the border. She called the nation’s immigration system “broken” and said the first bill proposed by the Biden administration would have created an earned pathway to citizenship for many undocumented immigrants.
One of the first questions was about the government’s response to Hurricane Helene and Milton in the Southeast amid former President Donald Trump continuing to make false statements.
“This is not a time for people to play politics,” she said, speaking on the disinformation around the hurricanes. “People are playing political games suggesting that resources and support is only going to people based on a political agenda.”
Harris’ town hall comes as polling finds her leading Trump among Latino voters 54 percent to 40 percent while six percent say they do not plan to vote or are unsure of who to vote for.
Harris’ 14-point advantage is far lower than President Biden’s 36-point lead among Latinos against Trump in 2020.
A poll from USA Today found Harris losing ground with young Latino men. In Arizona, 51% of Latino men ages 18-34 said they support Trump, while 39% of Latino men ages 18-34 support Harris. Among Latino men ages 35-49 in Arizona, 57% said they support Trump compared to 37% who support Harris.
