(CBS DETROIT) — Exit polling data shows a shift in old Democratic voting blocs: black men and Hispanics.
In Michigan, 21% of black men voted in favor President-elect Donald Trump; That number rose to 58% when it came to Hispanic voters of both genders.
“It seems like they’ve forgotten about the working class,” Jarrell Smith told CBS News Detroit. “I don’t necessarily put all my eggs in anyone’s basket, but these days I’m leaning more toward the Republicans.”
Smith, a native of Detroit, has voted for Democratic candidates since he turned 18. This year was the first year he voted red, and his vote is part of the 80,000 votes that turned Michigan for Trump.
Smith said the economy was his biggest driving force, and he believes another Trump presidency will put it “back on track.”
He also told CBS News Detroit that immigration played a major role.
“They (the Democrats) have given away a lot of taxpayer money,” Smith said. “And they keep giving them away to illegal immigrants.”
“People think undocumented people don’t pay taxes,” Jorge Aguilar told CBS News Detroit. “They do pay taxes.”
Aguilar works as a server in Detroit’s Mexicantown, where thousands of dollars he earns go toward paying taxes.
“It goes to Social Security and Medicaid,” Aguilar said. “I have to pay my taxes like a normal citizen.”
This is thanks to the DACA program, which was created in 2012 to give undocumented children brought to the US by their parents the opportunity to work. However, DACA recipients are not allowed to benefit from the safety net programs they pay into or vote.
“I didn’t have the privilege of voting,” Aguilar said. “I’ve been trying to encourage my friends to vote and vote for Vice President Harris.”
However, 58% of Hispanic voters in Michigan voted for another Trump presidency. Aguilar says it’s shocking after the president-elect made campaign promises to deport up to 13 million undocumented immigrants.
“I’ve been here since I was two years old,” Aguilar told CBS News Detroit. “I have my family, and that’s what I fear most: being separated from my family.”
