Latino callers vent economic frustration on Pennsylvania battleground radio

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Victor Martinez, the host of a Spanish-language morning radio show in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, asked his listeners a simple question: name one good thing about Donald Trump's second term. The calls came flooding in — but mostly with complaints about prices, not praise.

One caller, one joke about $5,000

When one listener mentioned Trump's pledge to send Americans a $5,000 payout if Republicans keep control of Congress, Martinez laughed so hard he played a laugh track on air. Then a truck driver called in with a bleak silver lining of high diesel prices: he might have to take an unplanned vacation because he could no longer afford to fill up his rig.

The same frustration as four years ago

Martinez has hosted the show for nearly a decade and added an hour of politics at the end of Trump's first term. Back then, callers worried about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, railed against inflation, and fretted over Joe Biden's age. Now, at the halfway mark of Trump's second term, Martinez told the Associated Press the frustration is back: fuel and grocery prices keep climbing, and many listeners say things are worse than under Biden. "It's the economy, stupid," he said. "People didn't think Biden did a good job. Everything was expensive and now it's worse."

Latinos now nearly a quarter of the region

Latinos have grown from a fifth to nearly a quarter of the Lehigh Valley's population, and they make up roughly a quarter of the congressional district's electorate. Two years ago, they were a key part of the coalition that delivered Pennsylvania to Trump. Polls now show 66% of Hispanic independents and 26% of Hispanic Republicans say the Trump administration's immigration enforcement goes too far.

A toss-up in the 7th District

Martinez's studio sits in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, one of the most closely watched battlegrounds in the country. Freshman Republican incumbent Ryan Mackenzie won the seat in 2024 by about one percentage point — 50.4% to 49.4%, a margin of roughly 4,000 votes — over Democrat Susan Wild. He now faces Democrat Bob Brooks, a retired firefighter and president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association, backed by Gov. Josh Shapiro, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg. A September Franklin & Marshall poll had Brooks leading Mackenzie 45% to 40%; among Hispanic voters, Brooks led 50% to 22%, with 28% undecided. Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up.

Both parties courting the Latino swing vote

Democrats argue that federal immigration enforcement will cost Republicans support among Latino voters. Mackenzie calls that "misinformation," saying he has worked with law enforcement to target criminals. Brooks says he frequently meets voters on the campaign trail who are afraid to leave their homes because of ICE. NPR recently walked Allentown's doorsteps too, finding a Trump voter who now regrets her vote, a Latino Republican who wouldn't open his door, and neighbors who say voting doesn't matter at all.

The economic bill lands in November

Control of the U.S. House could turn on districts like this one. For Martinez, the math is simple: the economic bill is the ballot box logic that matters most. Whether frustrated Latino voters swing back, stay home, or double down will help decide the outcome.