DETROIT – An NBC News exit poll reveals President-elect Donald Trump made inroads with voting blocs typically seen within the Democratic Party.
Amid the new wave of supporters?
Latino men, Black men, Arab and Muslim American voters.
This alliance is not your father’s Republican Party which historically was mostly comprised of older white males.
It’s a coalition of a working class crossing ethnic lines which begs the question:
are we looking at a new GOP or a social experiment under a Trump presidency?
Lorenzo Sewell, a senior pastor at 180 Church, became a registered Republican voter as soon as he could, he said.
“We know that we should not be in the poverty that we’re in the 1,000 majority Black cities in this country. Something needs to change and that’s why Black men went for Pres. Donald Trump,” Sewell said.
According to the religious leader, the incoming president has given him access to pushing a Black agenda by having a seat at the table. The president-elect has visited Sewell’s church and invited him to meet with the Trump campaign while speaking at this year’s Republican National Convention.
“Barrack Obama spoke down to us. Kamala Harris, she spoke down to us. She never gave us an opportunity to be at the table,” he said.
Sewell has worked tirelessly to convert more members of the community to switch parties.
On Fridays, he hosts ‘Souls to the Polls’ at his congregation.
For weeks, Local 4 reported the break between Arab and Muslim American voters from Democrat candidates after citing concerns about the Israel-Hamas war.
Community leaders and members made their stance known about the deepening regional conflict in the Middle East.
“We’ve shown today that we were not bluffing when we drove a redline,” Samraa Luqman said.
In mid-October, the Hispanic Federation collaborated with Michigan-based groups to get out the vote among Latinos.
It also released a survey at the time which showed a significant amount of people planned to vote with a high favorability towards Vice President Kamala Harris.
So, what happened?
“It’s the million-dollar question,” said Roberto Valdez Jr., a Midwest policy director for the federation. “I think it’s one of those things we’re still trying to analyze and understand why this shift.”
The non-partisan organization is expected to release its own exit polls survey soon.
While the survey’s respondents said issues such as immigration, abortion and the Israel-Hamas War were important, the top-tier concern: pocketbook issues.
What also remains a question: did disinformation and misinformation targeting Latino men play a role?
“I think it’s too early but i think it’s definitely something we cannot lose track of,” Valdez said.
What’s impossible to miss is personal finances appeared to motivate Latino and Black men whereas the Arab and Muslim community used their vote as a protest.
As for how voters feel about hate groups and questionable racist rhetoric either aligning with or surrounding the incoming president, some claim there’s a disconnect between how Trump is portrayed in the media and when one meets him.
If he’s a racist, he’s a bad one, Sewell said.
When asked if these faces are the future of the Republican Party, Sewell didn’t miss a beat.
“That’s what I’m seeing,” he said. “The door of opportunity.”
