The Cuban Voice

By: Nicholas Gowdy, Sofia Garcia, Gabriela Arias, Gabriel Gonzalez, David Delvalle

Photographed by Juan Luis Ozaez

MIAMI – In 2024, Cuban Americans in South Florida played a major role in the state's political outcome, helping Donald Trump sweep victory in Florida. According to the FIU Cuba Poll, cited by WPLG Local 10 from October 24, 2024, around 68% of the Cuban Americans in Miami Dade County said that they would vote for Trump. This is the highest level of support recorded in surveys for the community since 1991. To provide further context, 35% of Cuban Americans were supporting Trump in 2016 and 59% in 2020. Now in 2024, the percentage jumped again to 68%. This is a big shift that just occurred in less than a decade. (WPLG)

Matthew Bunch, a social sciences teacher at Miami-Dade County Public Schools and a podcaster, hosting This Day in Miami History, spoke to us. He argues that the focus on foreign policy regarding Cuba and Latin America at large is of high importance among Hispanic voters in the U.S., and Trump’s attitude towards the current Cuban government and other influences such as the current Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, also playing a major influence for Cubans voting overwhelmingly for Trump. 

This did not only include Cuban Americans either; a different survey highlighted by Axios Miami, conducted by FIU, showed that among the non-Cubans in the area, Trump was still in the competitive lead. In the survey, 46% of participants said that they would vote for Trump, while 44% said that they would vote for Kamala Harris (Axios).

For other political parties, conservatives had an unmatched zeal during 2024 as they put their faith to their nominee to take office. It spread to the streets, and banners obstructing rear-view mirrors as politics took precedent over traffic law, many recycling even their 2020 merchandise.

While Cuban Americans make up around half of Miami Dade's Hispanic population, they were able to out compete the liberal votes because of a low turnout. Florida had the third highest voter turnout in the last 70 years, and 79% of eligible voters showed up to vote, according to NBC6 (NBC6). However, Miami-Dade had the third lowest voter turnout in the state (Bierman). 

Due to this low turnout rate in Miami-Dade, the older and more conservative Cuban American voters had a bigger voice compared to the younger population who did not. With the loss of Democratic voters in the polls, it was easier for conservatives to have a larger representation.

During the height of the election in 2020 seen here, some Miami Trump supporters drove around waving banners, impassioned for the Trump 2020 campaign, with this energy continuing to 2024.

History is a big central reason for this political shift in Cubans. Many of them carry deep anti-communist and anti-socialist beliefs rooted in families’ experiences in fleeing Fidel Castro’s Cuba. As Democrats increasingly take in socialist leaning policies, this pushes Cuban Americans further to the right. (Newswire) 

Julio Llanes, a 52-year-old Cuban American voter from Miami, and a three-time Trump voter, claims that Democrats from “back then”, referring to characters such as John F. Kennedy, were more “moderate Democrats”. He then claims that current Democrats heading too close to the left, which scares many Cuban voters from voting Democrat.

In 2024, the election was so full of energy that even wine bottles and other little facets of life bear the resemblance or name of Donald Trump, but none other topped the conservative fervor, as seen here by the possessions of Julio Llanes, a three-time Trump voter.

Economics also plays a role in this red wave. Almost half of Hispanics reported that their financial situation had worsened over the past few years, according to NBC6. 

Rising costs for groceries, housing, and other living essentials, topped with republican promises to lower taxes resonated deeply with Hispanic voters.

This election underscores that Hispanic voters are not a monolith. On a huge national scale, democrats still do well with many Hispanic populations, but in Florida, and especially within Miami-Dade County, Cuban Americans are steadily Republican. This election shows the power of voter turnout. If the younger more progressive voters don’t vote, the more weight the conservatives carry. And this election also highlights a big cultural memory. For many Cubans, memories of Cuba’s communism still shape political values today.

So, the next time we ask: Why did Cubans and Hispanic voters in Florida vote republican? The answer has many layers. It’s about who shows up, how people feel about current conditions, and how history lives in the present. This should also serve as a reminder of the importance of examining different communities rather than just national trends.