TRANSCRIPT
Away from the glitz of the famous Las Vegas strip, in a flea market, hundreds of people are dancing to live music.
The Broadacres market has been a meeting place for the city’s Latino community for decades.
Locals say it’s like taking a trip to Mexico without having to cross the border.
It’s here we meet Art, a 30 year-old Mexican-American in a Tupac t-shirt, who’s making some extra cash by selling odds and ends.
He’s young, male, Latino - and proud to say who he’s voting for.
“The one and only Trump.”
Reporter: “Why?”
“Why not? I’ll tell you why. When I was 22, I bought my first house. I was making incredible money, my family was making incredible money, people here at the flea market were making incredible money, the economy was great. That’s pretty much it.”
Reporter: “So the last 4 years have been different?”
“Totally different, when Trump was in office, everybody had the American dream and people want to have the American dream still.”
Art’s not alone.
Joe Biden won the Latino vote over Trump 61 per cent to 35 per cent, but recent polls suggest Harris holds a slimmer lead - 56 to 40.
And she’s having particular trouble reaching younger Latino men; one survey found 53 per cent aged 18-34 support Trump.
Art thinks he knows why - he says the former president isn’t afraid to say what he thinks or to offend.
“I think a lot of young men see it’s okay to have energy, to be out loud about your thoughts, there’s nothing wrong with it. Men being men, everyone wants to be a man you know.”
Reporter: “Some of the language he uses, talking about migrants, the whole eating the dogs, eating the cats, does that stuff bother you?”
“No. We’re all adults, you know what I mean, we’re not always right, but we’re not always wrong either. If he got that shit wrong, he got that shit wrong.”
Donald Trump isn’t just gaining support among young Latino men.
Javier Barajas crossed the border from Mexico more than 40 years ago.
He began working in kitchens as a dishwasher, then a chef.
Now he owns five restaurants.
Donald Trump came to visit one of them recently.
Reporter: “What was the response from the Latino community?”
“They got mad at me." (laughs)
Reporter: “How mad?”
“They said they're going to boycott my restaurants.”
But Javier thinks many Latino voters quietly support Trump because of the economy.
Despite data suggesting inflation is slowing, Javier’s not feeling it.
“If the economy keeps going the way it is, next year I’m only going to have two restaurants. There’s no way I can keep open all five.”
For many years, Javier was an undocumented immigrant - a group former President Trump has targeted repeatedly on the campaign trail with increasingly inflammatory language.
Reporter: “Does his rhetoric around migrants concern you at all?”
“I know the language that he uses is not right sometimes, but he told me that he knows what this country needs. This country needs immigrants to work. This country cannot be run without immigrants.”
Democrats aren’t willing to give up on Latino men.
The party’s not-so-secret weapon in Nevada is the powerful Culinary union.
At their daily meeting it’s clear members are fired up.
Dishwashers, waiters and housekeepers - the people who keep Vegas running - could keep Kamala Harris in the running.
Union boss Ted Pappageorge says they’ll knock on more than 900,000 doors before election day.
“This is what it takes to win in Nevada. Nevada’s not a blue state, really barely a purple state. We’ve got a third Democrat, a third republican and a third independent registrations. And so the way we win is by this, workers out talking to workers on the doors.”
Fabiola is a casino worker who’s taken leave without pay to campaign.
Her message to male Hispanic voters is to think about the impact Republican-backed abortion laws could have on their families.
“You have to think about your daughters, you have to think about your wife, your sisters. God forbid anything were to happen and you voted the wrong way and your women’s rights were taken away - that affects you as a man.”
Campaigns spend hundreds of millions of dollars on TV commercials and digital marketing but Democrats hope speaking to individual voters face to face will be more effective at reaching Latinos who may not necessarily watch mainstream media.
“You connect with the voter. You’re telling your story, but most importantly, you’re hearing their story. So if you have a few minutes to tell me your story, and you go out to vote, and I’m part of the reason why you voted the way you did, then it makes every sacrifice I’m making, by not spending time with my family, being out in the sun… it makes a difference. It definitely makes a difference.”
