Barely a month into his new job, Univision CEO Daniel Alegre has already seen his network welcome both major candidates to town halls with undecided Hispanic voters and he says Just the news he made an unequivocal observation about America’s fastest-growing voting bloc: “The world of 15 years ago, where Hispanics were essentially seen as a vote for the Democratic Party, this is not is no longer the case. »

Alegre made the comment during an in-depth interview with the “John Solomon reports “ podcast where he also laid out his vision for the largest Spanish-language television network in the world. “You know, Hispanics are increasingly becoming a vote on issues rather than a specific party.”

He noted that “the Republican Party has made very significant progress compared to previous years in the Hispanic community. You know, the gap has always been much more Democratic, and it has narrowed significantly over the last few years,” particularly among male voters.

Shift in the Hispanic electorate

“I’m not trying to sound too dramatic, but I fundamentally believe that Hispanics are going to decide who the next president of the United States is,” Alegre said. “And if you look just at the battleground states, for example, the number of Hispanic voters in each of those battleground states is by a factor of about 10, greater than the difference between winning and losing each State.”

The shift in the Hispanic electorate parallels a shift in Univision’s own arc as it prepares for a post-cable TV world with new streaming products and targeted digital advertising capabilities, and to a major change in its newsroom, where combative longtime anchor Jorge Ramos is retiring after reigning supreme for decades while drawing distrust from conservatives who thought he leaned left.

Univision made a concerted effort to open the company’s lines of communication at the height of the Donald Trump and Kamala Harris campaigns, in addition to its usual newsroom interactions. This has created new opportunities to make friends and exchange knowledge on how to engage one of today’s most dynamic voter blocs.

Furthermore, Univision commissioned an investigation conducted by a Latino polling company linked to longtime Trump pollster John McLaughlin, which made national headlines revealing that support for the Republican candidate among Hispanic voters had increased 17 points since the 2020 election These results have been confirmed by internal polls conducted by Campaigns and other polling organizations which reveal a marked shift to the right among Hispanic voters, who now represent approximately 13% of the total expected votes in the 5th election. november.

“Political issues matter”

The poll also found that Hispanic voters had clear issues in their 2024 decisions, which were also aligned with Trump: 26% identified the economy and jobs as the most important issue, while 13% chose immigration and the border. According to the poll, two of Kamala Harris’ signature issues – abortion and climate change – were lower priorities.

Under Alegre’s predecessor, Wade Davis, Univision conducted similar surveys of its viewers, which revealed a much more evenly divided Hispanic electorate concerned about the insecurity of the border and their own communities, the impact of illegal immigrants in the labor market and loss of purchasing power. due to inflation, according to documents reviewed by Just the news.

Alegre said the poll is expected to be a determining factor in how political campaigns court Hispanics in the future, with increased daily conversations about politics and issues. He noted that even though Hispanics make up 13 percent of expected voters, political spending on Hispanic-language media will likely reach only 2 percent of the total. He added that a quarter of Hispanic voters remain undecided just a week before the election,

Candidates must show they are “able to speak to this community coherently about the things that matter, the policy issues that matter,” Alegre said.

“We know that the number one problem, you know, is inflation and its impact on living standards. Then security and safety, which obviously ties into the whole immigration issue,” he said. “These elements are absolutely essential. And you know, these town hall meetings have shown that if you show up and talk to the community, they will listen, they will appreciate it, and you can change their minds.

He warned both parties to avoid showing up in the final days of the election and then abandon such conversations in the months after the vote.

“What really matters next is consistency, consistency of engagement with our community to ensure that you’re speaking to them in their language, on the platforms that they’re used to and that they trust. And this obviously goes well beyond next week’s election, it’s a long-term commitment that I think is important to focus on.”

Alegre, of Mexican descent, also said political parties often seek to limit their appearances on Univision to their Spanish-speaking politicians, but that engagement with non-Spanish speaking officials is also key. He noted that Harris and Trump’s town halls had smooth translations that had no impact on viewing quality or the flow of programming. He encouraged others to follow suit.

“I want my Hispanic community to be fully informed and vote their conscience. But the other part is that it goes beyond November 5th. You know, it’s a short, medium and long term play for a community that will only get stronger and stronger and consistency of engagement will pay dividends. well beyond November 5,” he added

Alegre is a seasoned Big Tech executive who made his mark in the early days of the Google franchise and then led gaming giant Activision during a time of great social media expansion. He took over as head of Univision barely a month ago.

He said Univision’s growth across digital platforms – it already has two streaming giants – will continue to transform passive viewing into interactive engagement.

“I’ll tell you where I think things are evolving: of course, digital platforms and the possibility of having content on demand and personalized according to what you really care about. You know, this is definitely going to be a trend, but there’s still a lot of opportunity in the linear space. And you know, in sports, for example, we’re known as the home of soccer, and people will always come back to television, the primary network for the sport,” he said.

People can interact more socially

“Where it gets really exciting is when you can actually bring all these different elements together where you’re consuming content, whether it’s on a TV screen, a smart TV or on your iPad, but then you can interact a lot more socially with the content. subsequently, and that means whether it’s shorter and shorter clips that you can share with friends, or bringing in chat features, you know, influencers, and integrating influencers into the mix, which makes things much richer as an overall experience for the consumer. ” said Alegre.

He added a personal wish to the strategy. “I want to bring the Hispanic community together, whether it’s through our content, whether it’s through our informational content in the news,” he explained. “It’s about ensuring our community is connected, heard and informed in the right way so they can make the decisions that are best for themselves and their families.”