In 2024, Kamala Harris outspent Donald Trump on advertising by historic margins. She dominated Univision and Telemundo, outspent Trump 16 to 1 on Meta, and poured $57 million into digital ads compared to Trump’s $5.6 million. Yet Harris still lost. Why? Because money was poured into the wrong places.
Less than 2% of political ad dollars that cycle went to Spanish-language media. And when Democrats did invest, they focused almost exclusively on the national giants: Univision and Telemundo. That looked impressive in press releases but meant little in the daily lives of Latinos in battleground states.
The result was predictable. Latinos saw plenty of slick, prepackaged TV ads, but very little communication in the hyper-local outlets they actually trust: community newspapers, neighborhood radio, WhatsApp-native video, and local influencers. Harris added a $3 million Spanish-language radio buy in the final weeks across Nevada, Arizona, and Pennsylvania, but it was too late.
Virginia Democrats are now marching down the same path. Millions are being spent on national Spanish TV buys in D.C. and Richmond. But how much is being spent in the free weekly newspaper that circulates in Prince William County? How much on the Salvadoran radio shows that reach Northern Virginia workers every morning? How much on the WhatsApp newsletters that abuelas forward in church groups? The answer so far: almost nothing.
This isn’t just a tactical mistake, it’s political malpractice. Virginia’s Latino electorate is growing, diverse, and decisive. In 2021, Glenn Youngkin won the governor’s race with a margin built partly on Latino men shifting right. If Democrats assume Univision airtime equals Latino votes, they may soon learn the same painful lesson Harris did in 2024: all ads, no persuasion.
Latino voters are not a monolith, but they share one common reality: they consume news and information through local, community-driven channels. Older Latinos still read the small Spanish-language weeklies. Working-class families tune into regional radio. Younger Latinos scroll through YouTube and Spanglish TikTok. They are not being reached by a translated TV ad cut down from an English script. They want authenticity, accents they recognize, and messengers they trust.
The Democratic candidates in Virginia still have time to course-correct. But every week wasted on traditional advertising-only buys is a week that Republicans can build influence in Latino communities through cheaper, more direct channels.
The lesson from 2024 is clear. Money alone doesn’t move Latino votes. Localized, authentic, trusted communication does. If Virginia Democrats fail to learn it, they may spend millions—and still lose by thousands.
