Recenlty NBC News traveled to Reading Pennsylvania to speak with locals.
Reading is a predominate hispanic town.
“Wow. It’s been exciting. It’s been such an unexpected change,” Samuel Delacruz told NBC News. He added that Harris “has direction, and it evens the playing field between the two candidates.”
However, both Samuel and his brother David, who run a small business like many in this city, are undecided about whom to vote for in the upcoming November elections.
Reading, with its 67% Latino population, is considered to be part of the state’s “Latino belt.” As such, both parties are paying close attention to this battleground state’s growing number of Latino voters.
According to NBC, in 2020, Joe Biden won the state by 80,000 votes. During the same year, the state had over 610,000 Latinos eligible to vote. Biden won Reading by approximately 46 points in 2020, but there was a 15-point gain for the Republican party compared to 2016.
Last month, celebrations marked the opening of a campaign office for the Republican party in Reading. Meanwhile, the Democratic campaign reportedly has 24 offices scattered throughout the state.
Among the prospective voters is 18-year-old Jamell Garcia, a student preparing to vote in his first election. It’s estimated that 1 in every 5 Latino voters this year will also be first-time voters, like Jamell.
He admits to being “kind of nervous” about which candidate he should vote for. On the other hand, Milves Teresa, who voted for Biden in 2020, plans to vote Republican this year, due to her concerns over the high cost of living and business operations. Tanya Melendez from a local nonprofit will be voting for Harris, impressed by her visit to the area last year.
Restaurant owner Cesar Lopez, like many others, is undecided about his choice. His thoughts? “I think everybody is waiting for the next debate. Let’s see what happens.” Indeed, Reading is a city of anticipation – waiting and watching, ready for the next move in this political chess game.
So if we could read between the lines here a bit.
A liberal reporter shows up to your business with cameras in your face and asks you who you are voting for. What are you going to do?
In this climate? Play it cool.
If you read the entire piece from NBC you’ll note that only one person they interviewed said they were voting for Harris.
That’s it.
