Trump's Disaffected Supporters: A Shift Towards Democrats in Heavily Latino Districts

CASA GRANDE: Chris Martinez feels like Donald Trump has made a fool of him. The 28-year-old maintenance technician from Casa Grande, Arizona, voted for the Republican president expecting to get a thriving economy and no wars. Instead, gas prices are so high that Martinez returned one of his vehicles to the lender, he shifted his food shopping to a discount grocer and he has watched as the United States has spent months in conflict with Iran. "He's doing nothing for us, to benefit us," Martinez said, adding, "I got duped and I feel like a dummy." As a group, Latinos shifted toward Trump two years ago, helping return him to the White House with a Republican-controlled Congress. Now, many like Martinez are souring on the president and his party. The path to a US House majority runs through heavily Latino districts in states such as Arizona, Colorado and Texas, where Democrats are counting on disaffected Trump supporters to swing back their way. It is unclear whether Democrats have sealed the deal with voters who lack strong allegiance to either party. Casa Grande, the town of 70,000, sits at a crossroads between Phoenix and Tucson. There is a quaint downtown surrounded by master-planned developments offering affordable housing for people priced out of larger cities. Gated golf-course communities attract retirees. Much of the town is at the northern tip of Arizona's 6th Congressional District. Republican Juan Ciscomani is seeking a third term. Two years ago, Ciscomani won by 2.5 percentage points and Trump won by less than 1 point. This time, Ciscomani is subtly creating distance from Trump. The congressman talks up his immigrant story — he was born in Mexico and moved to the US as a kid — and frames himself as independent and bipartisan. Ciscomani's Democratic opponent is JoAnna Mendoza. The former Marine emphasizes her own hardscrabble upbringing as the daughter of immigrant farmworkers who worked the fields close to Casa Grande. "People trust you if they know that you came from the community and understand their way of life," Mendoza said in an interview earlier this year.