ORLANDO, Fla. — Hispanic Americans make up the largest minority group in the U.S., and because of that, gaining their support is a major factor in the upcoming election. 

How they vote could help determine who occupies the oval office for the next four years. 

What You Need To Know

  • Hispanic Americans make up the largest minority group in America, and because of that, gaining their support is a major factor in the upcoming election

  • Santiago Avila, with the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Florida, says economic issues are most important with Latinos in Central Florida

  • Devon Murphy-Anderson helped form Mi Vecino to give Democrats a way to build a year-round relationship with Hispanic voters

Santiago Avila likes to connect with voters by going to their homes. He knows this is an election where much of the Hispanic vote is not guaranteed to one particular party, unlike election cycles in the past.

“People get tired of the phone calls, they get tired of the text messages, because it’s more intrusive,” said Avila. “Here, at least you’re asking for their permission before you talk to them.”

Avila is Deltona’s Mayor, but he’s also connecting with voters on behalf of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Florida. And when it comes to the issues, he says immigration isn’t necessarily the most important to the Hispanic community. 

“One of the big problems that we see and struggle with are property taxes, the cost of food for our family, the cost of insurance — especially property insurance,” said Avila.

Despite previous election cycles where Hispanics might have typically voted for the Democratic Party, Avila said Latinos will vote based on the issues they are facing. And he believes that will cause some to move from voting Democrat to Republican.

“Some of those Hispanic families come out and ask, 'You know, I’m going to ask you because I’m taught to ask, are they a republican or democrat?'” said Avila. “And I tell them this person is a Republican and then they’ll ask me, 'Well, how do they feel about taxes?' And I’m like, 'If they were on the dias right now they would push for a full rollback.' 'OK, so that would affect me in a positive way, so I’m OK with that.'”

On the other side of the spectrum is Mi Vecino, which formed three years ago to re-energize efforts by Democrats to connect with Hispanic voters.

“We recognize each other and it doesn’t matter where you’re from, it’s still a community," said Sasha Hernandez, with Mi Vecino. "So when we meet each other, we say hi, introduce ourselves and say where we’re from.” 

Hernandez is also finding the economy is a top issue among voters she talks with.

Devon Murphy-Anderson helped form Mi Vecino to give Democrats a way to build a year-round relationship with voters. One of the conversations they’re having with them is about women's reproductive rights.

“When we have to have these very morally complex, nuanced, culturally competent conversations, it really helps if a voter has seen us before and understands that we’ve been caring for the community a lot longer than just now, when we’re coming to talk about this type of an issue,” said Murphy-Anderson.

Hernandez said she is hoping the work Mi Vecino has done over the last several years will pay off when it comes to getting out the Hispanic vote in this election.

“So when we have questions, or we want to bring information to them, they’re more susceptible to listening and giving us feedback, so that we can better service a community,” said Hernandez.