Latino Voters Flood Pennsylvania Radio With Complaints

Victor Martinez asked La Mega 101.7 listeners in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley to name one positive thing about President Trump. A caller joked about a $5,000 payout if Republicans keep Congress; Martinez played a laugh track. A trucker expected an unplanned vacation because he could not afford diesel for his rig. After nearly a decade hosting as Latinos rose from a fifth to nearly a quarter of the population, Martinez said "It's the economy, stupid. That's what it is. I mean, things have gotten so bad," and "People didn't think Biden did a good job. Everything was expensive and now it's worse." His Allentown studio is in the 7th District, where Latinos are about a quarter of the population and Republican Ryan Mackenzie faces Democrat Bob Brooks, a retired firefighter called Bombero Bob who visited a Mexican restaurant and a barber shop with a Dominican flag. Mackenzie opened an office with Spanish-speaking staff. Jackie Rivera said "We're not pretending everything is great right now." Matt Tuerk said "There's been no improvement" on high living costs. Martinez recalled a caller who would not vote and said not doing nothing is not the answer. Parrales-DeLeon recalled a caller who lost his job and worried about feeding his children. Contested: none identified. Effect on the House race is unresolved.