What's driving Latino voters? "The economy, and the economy, and the economy."

Leading Latino political strategists are examining the races where Latinos could play an outsize role in this year's midterm elections, and believe their votes will be critical in a number of House races. "The House map especially is very Latino," said Carlos Odio, co-founder of Equis Research, a political data firm that specializes in Latino voters. He went on to tick off a list of competitive districts across the midterm landscape, with a high population of Hispanic voters, that could determine who wins the majority in Congress. At Tuesday's Latino Vote Summit in Washington, D.C., Latino political strategists, pollsters and campaign operatives from both sides of the aisle gathered to discuss cost-of-living issues and Latino political power heading into the fall. The backdrop is Latino voters' swing toward President Trump in 2024 — and Democrats' efforts to win them back during a tightly contested race for control of the House and Senate. Odio said the high-stakes Senate race in Texas between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton could be heavily influenced by the state's Latino voters, who supported Mr. Trump with a 55% majority in the 2024 election, according to CBS News exit polls. Since then, recent polls show that many Texas Hispanics have swung away from Republicans. …