Latino voters in California are turning to the GOP

California Latinos who helped re-elect President Donald Trump to a second term don’t think he’s making America great again.

CalMatters reporters examined 99 percent of the votes cast in last year’s special election for Proposition 50 and found the measure did better than Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign in precincts where most voters are not white.

Democrats have framed the initiative — which rigs California in a way that benefits Democrats — as a referendum on the Trump administration. The swing in voting was sharpest in precincts where the majority of ballots were cast by Latino voters: Proposition 50 approval votes gained about 30 percentage points compared to Harris’s run for president the previous year.

The findings give us some of the clearest quantitative evidence yet of what state and national polls, focus groups, and off-year polls have been suggesting: Latino support for Trump two years ago was not a lasting realignment.

• Cipher DanksRosedale resident who voted for Trump in 2024: “I thought he was going to make America great again. He didn’t keep his word.”

In addition to struggling with rising costs, especially gasoline prices due to the Iran war, Latinos feel unfairly targeted by the administration, citing a crackdown on immigration and high tariffs on Mexican goods, a San Francisco-based Democratic pollster said.

With Latinos potentially playing a central role in at least two congressional races in the Central Valley and San DiegoDemocrats are seeking to capitalize on this voter disillusionment to hand over control of the US House of Representatives. But Mike Madrid, a conservative political consultant who studies the behavior of Latino voters, said dissatisfaction with Trump and the GOP does not guarantee votes for Democrats.

• Madrid: “Was Prop. 50 an indicator of something ideological or a homecoming? No, not even a little bit. They reject the party in power that doesn’t prioritize their economic issues.”

Read the full story and learn how we analyzed the data.

From CalMatters economics reporter Levi Sumagasai:

Once again, a court found that Trump’s tariffs were illegal.

The Court of International Trade found in a 2-1 decision Wednesday that the administration lacked the authority to impose the 10 percent across-the-board tariffs the president issued in February, the same day the U.S. Supreme Court managed that the sweeping tariffs imposed by Trump on most imported goods since last year are illegal.

Some importers and several dozen states, including California sued in March because of the new tariffs. The Trade Court found that the administration had not met the conditions necessary to invoke Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 for the tariffs on private importers and the state of Washington, although it rejected claims by California and other states that it said had failed to prove harm from the Section 122 tariffs.

The White House did not immediately respond to questions from CalMatters. The solution comes as small businesses and others are trying to get refunds on fares they paid last year.

Let’s dive into some K-12 education news:

• Apprentice teachers: To address the high cost of becoming a public school teacher and the state’s teacher shortage, California launched its first registered apprenticeship program for K-12 teachers, designed to give student teachers a chance to earn a salary and a teaching credential at the same time. In their first year, students in the Tulare and Santa Clara County programs will co-teach with the help of a mentor while enrolled in a teacher preparation or graduate program. In addition to receiving a stipend, apprentices can take jobs as substitute teachers to earn more money. Read more by Adam Echelman of CalMatters.

• K-12 Core Report: The state’s complex school oversight system and emphasis on local control have led to gaps in student performance and questions about accountability, according to a wide-ranging report released Thursday. The report suggests that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to streamline the State Board of Education’s powers could be a good start to address these problems. Read more by Carolyn Jones of CalMatters.

One of the two primary candidates to oversee California’s budget is a Democratic incumbent who has improved the state’s ability to deliver a key annual financial report. The other is a Republican challenger who wants to use artificial intelligence to research state spending. Read more by Marissa Kendall of CalMatters.