‘I felt so guilty’ that ‘I had to officially change parties’: Latino voters shift on Trump

[0:00] Well, a key question for Republicans with less than two weeks to go, can they turn out President [0:05] Trump's 2024 coalition? That coalition saw major gains among key groups like Latino voters who [0:11] swung heavily toward the president in 2024. But in 2026, our latest NBC News Telemundo poll shows [0:17] Latino voters souring on the president with just 27 percent approving of the job he's doing. [0:23] NBC's Liz Kreutz traveled to a battleground district in California where the shift among [0:28] Latino voters could have major consequences for who wins that race and which party controls the [0:33] house. In the heart of California's Central Valley, in one of the tightest house races in the country, [0:40] some voters are looking for change. Right after I voted and started seeing everything that was [0:46] happening, I felt so guilty. I just had to officially change bodies. Two years ago, Efrain Bobadilla [0:55] voted for President Trump, a decades-long registered Republican. He says he joined the party after [1:00] former President Ronald Reagan granted him and nearly three million undocumented immigrants [1:06] amnesty in 1986. I kind of promised that I was going to be a Republican. But earlier this year, [1:14] after feeling dismay over the ice raids and the economy, the 61-year-old real estate agent in [1:19] Bakersfield, California, says he changed his party registration to Democrat. What did you see in those [1:26] early days of the Trump administration that made you feel so guilty? Broken promises. He said that he [1:33] was going to deport people with records or criminal records, and he was just the opposite. Bobadilla [1:41] lives in California's 22nd congressional district. When we work together, there's a lot more we can [1:46] accomplish. Where Republican incumbent David Valadeo, a former dairy farmer, currently serving his [1:52] sixth term in Congress, is facing a challenge from a political newcomer. I'm Randy Villegas, and I approve [1:57] this message. The 31-year-old progressive Democrat is leaning into his story as a son of Mexican immigrants [2:03] as he campaigns to flip the district blue. Central Valley families deserve better. People in this [2:08] district will drive seven to eight hours to Tijuana to go get cheaper dental work done, cheaper [2:13] prescription drugs, and that shouldn't be happening in the richest country in the history of the world. [2:18] This race has become a test for both parties. For Republicans, whether they can hold on to this [2:22] majority Latino district, as polling shows Latino voters souring on President Trump, and for Democrats, [2:29] whose successful redistricting efforts should give them an advantage here. Is that going to help you? [2:34] Potentially, but this is a district that, you know, should have been Democratic on paper over a decade ago. [2:38] Republicans have long overperformed here. GOP political analyst Kathy Abernathy explains why. [2:45] We produce here. We produce food. We produce fuel. That makes a lot of these Democrats, [2:52] small d maybe, appreciate what the Republican agenda has been. [2:57] People fought and died to defend democracy. [3:00] She says a recent campaign stop by Bernie Sanders could even backfire on Villegas and the Democrats. [3:06] That's that's showing that he's pretty far off the mainstream of what most people consider the [3:11] Democrat Party. But Valadeo is still battling the headwinds all Republicans are facing right now. [3:17] I don't know how your conscience tells you to rip away health care from 70,000 of your constituents. [3:22] At a recent debate, Valadeo was pressed to defend his vote for President Trump's big, beautiful bill, [3:27] legislation that reduces federal Medicaid spending in a district with the second highest rate of Medicaid [3:33] enrollment in the country. There are no actual cuts. If those people that have the ability to do [3:37] that and have no disabilities, they should be able to put in a fair day's work. And that's all that we [3:42] ask. NBC News has reached out to Valadeo's team repeatedly. His campaign has not responded. [3:47] You're planning to vote for the Democrat? Absolutely. [3:49] For Bobadilla, he says voting for Villegas is his way of sending a message to President Trump. [3:54] Do you feel like you were duped? Absolutely. I mean, when you see your own young people being [4:06] treated the way he's treated, it's painful. And Liz Kreutz joins me now. Liz, what an absolutely [4:18] fantastic piece. Interviews there that you did. Thank you for bringing that to us. And I want to [4:24] delve a little deeper with you. You talked about the fact that that district was one of those that [4:29] was the subject of redistricting. But would Valadeo's seat have been in jeopardy regardless, [4:35] do you think, given this climate, given the shift particularly that we're seeing amongst Latinos? [4:40] Yeah. Yeah. Good question, Kristen. I think a lot of the sort of political watchers here in [4:45] California would say yes. I mean, even back in 2018, during the midterms, then during President [4:51] Trump's first term, Congressman Valadeo lost his seat then. He did win it back and he's been able to [4:56] overcome many of the headwinds since. He is somebody who is often seen now by people in [5:01] the community as someone who doesn't always vote down party line. He's actually the only House [5:06] Republican running for reelection right now that voted to impeach President Trump over the January [5:10] 6th Capitol riot. So many people support him, even if they maybe don't support the president. [5:17] It's still very close there. And that is why both parties are pouring money into this district. [5:22] AOC is expected to campaign there on Friday in support of the Democratic candidate, Kristen. [5:28] All right. Well, we'll continue to track it very closely, as I know you will as well. Liz, [5:32] thanks again. Really great piece. Appreciate it.