- Title: In New Mexico, a Democratic stronghold backs Trump on poverty, fentanyl crisis
- Date: 21st November 2024
- Summary: SOCORRO, NEW MEXICO, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 16, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF JOSE BENAVIDEZ’S MOBILE HOME WITH TRUMP 2024 FLAG DISPLAYED JOSE BENAVIDEZ STANDING ON HIS PORCH (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOSE BENAVIDEZ, 49, CAR MECHANIC TRUMP VOTER, SAYING: “He said, I have more money in my pocket this time, so let's see. Like I said, nothing to lose. I mean, I don't know. He's a c
- Embargoed: 5th December 2024 01:33
- Keywords: DEMOCRATS DONALD TRUMP NEW MEXICO REPUBLICANS SOCORRO US ELECTION
- Location: SOCORRO, NEW MEXICO, UNITED STATES
- City: SOCORRO, NEW MEXICO, UNITED STATES
- Country: US
- Topics: North America,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA001028017112024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Past a pawn shop and thrift store on the working-class side of Socorro, New Mexico, Jose Benavidez stood on the porch of his trailer and said he voted for Donald Trump because he had "nothing to lose."
The 49-year-old car mechanic hopes the Trump, who won a decisive victory against Democrat Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election, can ease poverty and the fentanyl crisis in Socorro and its surrounding county of the same name, which this month backed a Republican presidential candidate for the first time in 36 years.
"He said I'll have more money in my pocket this time," said Benavidez, who voted for President Joe Biden in 2020. As a former felon, who has had run-ins with Socorro police, Benavidez said he saw Trump as a "character," just like himself.
It's a common sentiment in working-class neighborhoods of south Socorro, where Trump made some of his biggest gains in the county of 16,000 residents. Reuters spoke to nearly two dozen voters, elected officials and community advocates in the county.
Trump's 3-point win in Socorro, which is 50 % Hispanic and 15 % Native American, after Biden took it by 7 points in 2020, is emblematic of inroads the Republican made in counties with high poverty and those with large Hispanic or Native American populations, according to Edison Research data.
It was the only county in Democratic-controlled New Mexico, the state with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Hispanic or Latino, to flip Republican at the presidential level in this year's election.
Socorro was one of only 10 counties nationwide, in traditionally Democratic states, that have always voted Democratic since 2012 where Trump won in 2024, Edison Research data shows. Harris won New Mexico by 6 points in 2024 after Biden took it by 11 points in 2020, a result strategists say reflects how Trump's hardline approach to dealing with migrants and drugs coming across the Mexican border and messaging on the economy resonated with voters.
Straddling the Rio Grande valley and the surrounding Chihuahuan desert and Magdalena mountains, Socorro county is home to New Mexico's mining and technology public university and the Very Large Array astronomical radio observatory.
Chile farms line the irrigated valley where the Bosque del Apache wildlife refuge draws bird watchers from around the world to see tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes and other migratory wildfowl.
Socorro is also among 11 % of U.S. counties that have been stuck in high levels of poverty for at least three decades, losing around 5 % of its population since 2019 as residents sought work elsewhere, according to U.S. Census data. Its drug overdose death rate is approaching twice the national average and about a third of people live in poverty.
Sitting on the town's plaza, Democratic voter David Chavez said the town of 8,200 never fully recovered from the businesses and jobs it lost during the pandemic.
"People feel disaffected," said Chavez, a brewer who says his pub and music venue, like most local businesses in Socorro, is "struggling" economically.
Local Republicans said they tapped into voter resentment of Democrats they accuse of being out of touch with working-class priorities.
Republican candidate for county treasurer Gail Tripp said people she met while knocking on doors were primarily concerned about high grocery prices and the border.
“They don’t have the money to feed their dogs, let alone the whole family," said Tripp, who was elected to the treasurer post previously held by a Democrat.
Socorro's Democratic Mayor Ravi Bhasker, a doctor and hotel owner in office for 34-straight years, did not respond to requests for comment.
On the northwest corner of the plaza, health group SCOPE provides Narcan - which reverses opiod overdoses - to the community and advises parents and schools on how to talk with children about drugs and destigmatize addiction.
"They want to make sure the streets are safe," Veronica Espinoza, a SCOPE harm reduction specialist, said of voters.
Local officials like County Manager Andrew Lotrich wants resources to investigate fentanyl dealers as well as generate jobs after two grocery stores and numerous local businesses closed in recent years and a Walmart moved in.
"It's how do we get our small businesses back into Socorro County, and how do we attract more entrepreneurs," said Lotrich, dressed in camouflage before an elk hunt, who voted as an independent.
Back on Spring St., Benavidez said that at a time when people were down, Trump at least made them laugh, even though he was "probably" racist.
"Like I said, there's nothing to lose," said Benavidez, who stapled his Trump flag to the porch after it was ripped down a couple of times.
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