Republicans see Latino voters in Nevada as key to retaking the White House in 2024

LAS VEGAS — Shuffling through jeans on a clothing rack in her small store at a Latino market, Christy Rosales says she hopes Trump returns to office.

The 40-year-old native of Colombia complains that sales in her store have improved since COVID, but not to where they were before the pandemic.

"You can speak to many of the store owners here, those who have been here two or three years," she said in Spanish. "And they will say their numbers this year have dropped."

She understands it's not the most popular view here in East Las Vegas where it's almost as common to hear Spanish as English.

But she says the economy has the most direct impact on her family.

Nevada has had a slower economic recovery than much of the rest of the country because of its reliance on the hospitality and tourism industries. And Latinos have felt the brunt of that because of the high numbers employed in the service sector.

Latinos, who make up 20% of the electorate in Nevada, have long been regarded as a key constituency for Democrats, but Republicans sense an opportunity here where economic concerns are front and center.

So, former President Donald Trump is courting Latino voters in this key battleground state, while at the same time railing about an invasion at the southern border.

Jesus Marquez, a local political consultant who has advised several state Republicans, says Trump's focus on working class Americans resonates with working class Latinos in Las Vegas and across Nevada.

He points to polling that shows the cost of living, the economy, jobs and health care being the most important issues to the community.

"In fact, immigration falls down into like the seventh or sixth place. It's around there," he said.

At a recent rally in East Las