Biden Aims to Shore Up Latino Support in First Florida Trip

Mercedes Figueruell, a Cuban-American Trump supporter, was not swayed.

“Listen, he’s a jerk and says things that I don’t like and don’t approve of,” she said of the president whom she plans to support.

But she expressed concern that more Democrats seemed to have grown accepting of socialism.

“This is an issue that is very powerful to a lot of Latino voters, especially those of us that came from socialist or communist countries,” she said. “We’re starting to see it brewing in the Democratic Party.”

Republicans have sought to paint Mr. Biden as a radical, and there are some signs that the message may connect with a slice of the Latino population in Florida, in particular with more conservative Cuban-Americans. Mr. Biden, who has long been a relative moderate focused on bipartisan consensus-building and who opposes defunding the police, said incredulously in one recent speech, “Do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters?”

Supporters on both sides are quick to point out that “Latino voters” are hardly a monolithic group.

On Tuesday, there was a wide variance in political views across age, class, geography and country of origin. Four people interviewed said that they were former Republicans and that Mr. Trump had scared them out of the party, largely over immigration policies that they described as cruel. Likewise, two supporters of Mr. Trump said they used to be Democrats, but now liked the incumbent — mainly because of what one called his “no-nonsense” approach to immigration.

“For most Latino voters, health care and the economy are more important than immigration,” said Marco Delgado of Tampa, who voted twice for George W. Bush and plans to support Mr. Biden. He also mentioned Mr. Trump’s response to the coronavirus crisis as a big factor in considering how to vote.

“You ask him about Covid-19 and he gives you an answer about the stock market,” Mr. Delgado said. “To me that says all you need to know, no matter where you come from.”