GOP explains messaging that spurred Black & Hispanic voters to outperform projections in Wisconsin

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Around the country -and especially around Milwaukee- Black and Hispanic voters outperformed expectations in Tuesday's election.

So we wanted to hear the messages Republicans focused on that resonated with those voters.

They told us it was the economy, the economy, the economy.

The Republican ground game hammered that theme home time and again over the past few months as the party reached into minority communities to pry votes away from Democrats.

And it worked.

Marty Calderon, the Hispanic Outreach Coordinator for the Wisconsin Republican Party, told us voters worried about, "Groceries, gas prices."

Will Martin, a member of the party's executive committee, said, "They're dealing with the frustrations, the struggle, of the economic situation."

The GOP targeted minority voters through the economy, and those voters responded.

Will Martin said internal data shows trump support from Black voters in Wisconsin jumped from 8% in 2020 to 21% in 2024, the biggest shift in Black voting in all battleground states.

He said the party focused on spending and inflation. "They can see the difference in their paycheck."

They asked voters -as the former President often did- are they better off now or four years ago?

He said Black families -especially those in poverty- are not better off.

"This has really been a tax on these families, where they're saying 'I can't afford to make it in this economy that we were told is so good.'"

Hispanic voters also responded to conversations about the economy.

Calderon said, "Trump has faced these problems already."

He said that interest continued even into election day. "I had two people came in to sit down with me, asked me questions."

Calderon said people want outcomes. "They want what we had before when Trump was in office. And that's coming from Latino neighbors."

While many Hispanic voters worried about immigration policy under a future President Trump, the GOP framed the issue as right vs. wrong.

Calderon said the message was, "If you do it the right way, there's going to be better outcomes."

Calderon said not all Hispanic voter agreed with that message, but the party also tried to show restrictive immigration policy would protect from dangerous cartels.

And he said fewer families were concerned with being split up under deportation plans.

Calderon said, "I really do believe that. Because, again, this is all on experience of talking and dealing with people in the community."

Both Will Martin and Marty Calderon said the next goal is to continue communicating with Black and Hispanic voters throughout the next Trump term.

They want to maintain the inroads they've made so that this election is not a one-off.