High prices are testing Latino voter loyalties in a key battleground district

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Una sola cosa. Just one thing. That's all Victor Martinez wanted from listeners of his Spanish-language radio station — tell him one positive thing about President Donald Trump.

The calls started rolling in. Someone mentioned the $5,000 payout that Trump promised if Republicans keep control of Congress, which Martinez thought was so hilarious that he played a laugh track.

Then a trucker shared a silver lining from high diesel prices — he was expecting to take an unplanned vacation because he could no longer afford to fill up his rig.

Martinez has been hosting his show for nearly a decade in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, where Latinos have gone from a fifth to nearly a quarter of the population over the same time period. He added an hour of politics to his morning talk show at the end of Trump's first term, and listeners flooded his phone with their worries about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, their unhappiness with inflation and their concern over Joe Biden's age.

Now, at the halfway mark of Trump's second term, Martinez said people are just as frustrated as they were then. They're angry about higher prices for fuel and groceries, and Republicans could face the consequences in the midterm elections.

"It's the economy, stupid. That's what it is. I mean, things have gotten so bad," Martinez said. "People didn't think Biden did a good job. Everything was expensive and now it's worse."

Martinez broadcasts from a fourth floor studio with hardwood floors and a view of an old church in downtown Allentown. He operates the show's control board like an orchestra conductor and sits in front of a poster with campaign signs for Democrats and Republicans.

The studio is located in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, where freshman incumbent Ryan Mackenzie faces Democratic challenger Bob Brooks, a retired firefighter and union official, in one of the most closely watched races in the country.

Latinos are about a quarter of the district's population, and they were a key part of Trump's winning coalition two years ago.

Brooks calls himself "Bombero Bob" — Spanish for firefighter — and recently stopped by a Mexican restaurant and a barber shop with a Dominican flag hanging inside. Mackenzie's campaign has promoted support from Latino voters and officials, and the congressman opened a district office in downtown Allentown with Spanish-speaking staff.

Martinez is a longtime critic of the president, and this year is backing Brooks. But he said his political roots are in the Republican Party. He supported candidates like Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush, and he opposed Biden's decision to seek reelection because he was too old.