Black, Latino Turnout Is Pivotal in Wisconsin's 2024 Vote

Zac Schultz:
Black and Latino voters will play a key role in who wins the White House. A recent report by PBS NewsHour shows Donald Trump is gaining the support of more Black men this election cycle. Murv Seymour has more on efforts to win over Black and Latino voters in Wisconsin.

Scott Walker:
We can’t survive four more years of Joe Biden. We need President Donald Trump.

Murv Seymour:
Welcome to the last outdoor rally Donald Trump held in Wisconsin.

Donald Trump:
I just want to begin by saying hello, Wisconsin. Hello. Great state. I’ve had great — we’ve had great success here. What a crowd. What a crowd.

Murv Seymour:
And Trump’s message is a crowd pleaser here.

Donald Trump:
After we win the presidency, I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled.

Murv Seymour:
With only a few Black and Latino voters in attendance…

Donald Trump:
Because if you look at the Hispanic population.

Murv Seymour:
…the former president talks directly to this minority group of voters who overwhelmingly and traditionally tend to vote for Democrats. Trump is trying to buck the trend with voters of color. But is it working?

Donald Trump:
If you look at the Black population, they’re voting for Trump. They’re voting for Trump. You, you, look at you. You. Thank you. I like that person right there.

Murv Seymour:
Hilario Deleon is the first Latino chairman of the Republican Party of Milwaukee County, and he’s the youngest. He passionately works the crowd at rallies like this to ignite enthusiasm for Donald Trump, who he believes offers a lot to Black and Latino voters, especially when it comes to jobs and the economy.

Hilario Deleon:
They feel like they’re being left behind by the Democrat Party. They feel like the party is gone way too far to the left, and they want to just kind of return back to the middle. They may not like his personality, but if there’s one thing that they do say is that he brought us jobs and he put money in our pockets and we were able to, you know, have, you know, better life under him than under the previous administration.

Murv Seymour:
Antonio Servantez lives a few blocks away. He tells me he’s brought his young son to teach and expose him to politics so he can one day vote with his conscience.

Antonio Servantez:
I never paid attention to politics. I didn’t understand. I said, well, whatever they do is fine with me. But when you have children and a family, you understand that, wait a minute now, I can’t afford paying all this for the gas when it was low. For the food and the eggs when it was low and now it’s high. Why is it high?

Murv Seymour:
Sporting his “Donald Trump wanted for president” shirt, Phillip Brookshire is a walking billboard for the Trump campaign. He says he’s been supporting Republican candidates since the days of Ronald Reagan. If he could have things his way…

Phillip Brookshire:
I wish more Black people would pay attention to their own hearts and stuff. And don’t go by the media and don’t go listening because of what their grandfathers and grandmothers said. Vote Democrat. Don’t do that. Vote for somebody that that has ideas that are really out here to do something to help you.

Murv Seymour:
To connect with more voters in Wisconsin, the Republican and Democratic Parties both have set up offices in Milwaukee’s inner city, targeting Blacks and Latinos.

Sarita Campbell:
Gracias por darnos vida, salud y fuerza. (Thank you for giving us life, health and strength.)

Murv Seymour:
Welcome to Milwaukee’s south side.

Jose Perez:
Sin su voto, no tienen voz. (Without your votes, you have no voice.)

Murv Seymour:
Without your votes, you have no voice, he says.

Marcelia Nicholson:
We have a chance to shape the direction of our nation.

Murv Seymour:
Surrounded by symbols of faith and Latin culture…

Key Jennings:
Imagine being able to just talk to three people a week. Maybe change one person’s mind a week. You could literally be the difference.

Murv Seymour:
…surrogates of the Harris-Walz campaign have come to Iglesia del Dios Vivo Church to speak directly to Latino and Black voters in this blended neighborhood.

Patricia Ruiz-Cantu:
Vamos a tener una persona que no quiere a los Latinos, que quiere diviciones.

Murv Seymour:
Tonight’s message is in English…

Key Jennings:
The chance to actually do something is right now. We don’t want to wait until November 6th.

Murv Seymour:
….and Espanol.

Jose Perez:
Let’s get out here. Let’s get the vote. Gracias and God bless you. Thank you.

Murv Seymour:
If the election is close, voters in this room could be some of those who decide who wins.

Steven Tipton:
I absolutely believe that it’s going to come down to the Black and the Latino vote. Coming together and talking together is an excellent way to improve our chances of the Black and Latino vote doing it for Harris and Walz.

Priscilla Perez:
As a Latino person, I would say it’s important to vote for the candidate that is going to, you know, be open to diversity and to community and people of various cultures.

Kamala Harris:
Good evening, Milwaukee.

Murv Seymour:
During the Democratic National Convention, Vice President Kamala Harris brought her message of a proposed tax cut for the middle class and $25,000 in down payment assistance for first time homeowners to the Fiserv Forum arena in downtown Milwaukee. While she doesn’t say it, it’s a message meant to speak directly to middle class Black and Latino voters.

Kamala Harris:
The high cost of housing, understanding so many people are trying to fulfill the American dream, and we need to give people help to get there.

Murv Seymour:
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson resists the assumption that Black and Latino voters will automatically support the Democrats. But he says he hasn’t met any Black voters in Milwaukee who support Donald Trump.

Cavalier Johnson:
That’s why the vice president today is leaving her own convention, the DNC in Chicago, coming to Milwaukee, coming to the most diverse community in the entire state of Wisconsin and saying, hey, we see you. We value you. And I want to earn your vote.

Donald Trump:
People go there from Wisconsin.

Kamala Harris:
Remember the traditions of our great country.

Murv Seymour:
For both campaigns, the battle for Black and Latino voters in Wisconsin is hardly over. Some wonder just how many more times will we see this team of candidates here in this crucial swing state to win over this key demographic of voters? Reporting for “Here & Now,” I’m Murv Seymour.