READING, Pa. — In this majority-Latino city, brothers and barbers Samuel and David Delacruz said that lately, the talk of the town is politics — and they’re newly energized to cast their ballots.
The brothers, who are of Dominican descent, first spoke to NBC News before former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt in the state and before he announced his pick of Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate — and before Vice President Kamala Harris became the de facto Democratic presidential nominee.
“Wow. It’s been exciting. It’s been such a unexpected change,” Samuel Delacruz said of the changes in the national political scene. He said Harris “has direction, and it evens the playing field between the two candidates.”
Samuel Delacruz and his brother David are firmly undecided about who to vote for in November’s elections.
The population of Reading is 67% Latino, and it’s one of the cities and towns referred to as the state’s “Latino belt.”
Both parties are paying attention to this battleground state’s growing number of Latino voters.
In 2020, Joe Biden won the state by 80,000 votes; that same year, more than 610,000 Latinos were eligible to vote in the state. While Biden won Reading by about 46 points in 2020, Trump saw a 15-point gain there compared to 2016.
Last month, Latino Americans for Trump touted the opening of a Trump campaign office in Reading, while the Biden and now Harris campaign told NBC News it has 24 offices throughout the state.
Jamell Garcia, 18, a student at the brothers’ Berks Barber School, will be voting in his first election. According to UnidosUS, 1 of every 5 Latino voters this year will be casting ballots for the first time.
He said he wasn’t sure who he was voting for yet, and he was feeling “kind of nervous” about the prospect of casting his ballot for one of the presidential candidates.
Milves Teresa, a paralegal, said she voted for Biden in 2020 but will be voting for Trump this year, citing her frustrations over the high cost of living and the cost of running a business. Tanya Melendez, who works for a nonprofit, said she will be voting for Harris; she cited the fact that Harris came to the area last year and spoke at the local community college.
Restaurant owner Cesar Lopez also recalled the Harris visit, but said he hasn’t made up his mind about who he’ll vote for.
“I think everybody is waiting for the next debate,” he said. “Let’s see what happens.”
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