In Arizona, this Latino family is switching to Trump after four generations of voting Democrat

Kathleen Gomez needed new election signs. She arranged for our meeting to be held at the Gloo Factory in Tucson, a two-hour drive from her home in Douglas in Cochise County, Arizona, where she is running for a board seat on November 5th.

The candidate hoped to replace one of her signs that was lost in the battle at a traffic circle in Bisbee, the county seat, a Democratic stronghold where “they hate Donald with a passion,” she said. The former president's sign did not survive the heated passions, nor did hers, which was dusky red and featured only a small elephant in the right corner.

The Gloo Factory, a printing and sticker factory, was in full swing, crammed with T-shirts and posters: pro-Kamala Harris, pro-ceasefire in Palestine, and pro-abortion. “I have to be their only Republican customer,” Gomez said before setting off again in her Chevrolet Silverado pickup. Two hours there, two hours back for a poster, that's Arizona.

At 68, Gomez is campaigning to “educate” her fellow citizens before decisions are made, to “inspire” them to get involved, and to show that the political process “still works” when they do. In a Republican county divided into three parts – the left of the left in Bisbee, the right of the right in Tombstone and the Latinos, mostly Democrats, in Douglas – she hopes her name will help her get elected become.

Jesus, the Pope and JFK, “our Trinity”

The Gomez family has lived in Douglas, on the border with Mexico, for four generations. Her great-grandfather Julio Gomez, who died in 1928, is buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery, said to be the only south-facing cemetery in North America. Michael Gomez, the grandfather, ran a grocery store where he sold dried fruit and gave advice to politicians who came to campaign for the Mexican vote. The store was decorated with prints of Jesus, the Pope and John F. Kennedy. “That was our trinity,” said Kathleen Gomez, who caught the political virus in the back room. Mike Gomez, her 93-year-old father, was one of Arizona's first Latino dentists and served as mayor of Douglas from 2008 to 2012. The family had always been Democrats until Donald Trump came along.

The number of arriving migrants has decreased

In the United States, Arizona is its own state, part Wild West countryside full of ranchers, part aerospace and semiconductor mission land. With a population of nearly 7.5 million, it would have no meaning if the political landscape and American electoral system had not made it one of the seven key swing states in the 2024 election. In 2016, Trump beat Hillary Clinton by 91,234 votes. In 2020, Joe Biden won the state (by 10,457 votes). The winner on Nov. 5 will take 11 seats in the Electoral College and possibly the White House.

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