The role of Haiti-Dominican Republic relations in shaping voter sentiment in 2024

Across the nation, President-elect Donald Trump made big gains with Latinos in the election. Exit polls suggest he won among Latino men, driven by worries over the economy, violent crime and unchecked immigration.

One Massachusetts city that saw this trend is Lawrence. While Vice President Kamala Harris still won the city, support for Trump nearly tripled since his first run, landing him 40% of the vote in Lawrence.

More than 80% of Lawrence residents are Latino, and most come from the Dominican Republic. For some Dominicans in Lawrence, the arrival of thousands of Haitians to Massachusetts stirred memories of their home country, where for decades Haitians have migrated in large numbers.

On Radio Boston, we take a deeper dive into how the current political landscape and shared history in Haiti and the Dominican Republic played a role in the 2024 election.

We are joined by Patrick Sylvain, author and assistant professor at Simmons University, Marcela García, associate editor and columnist for the Boston Globe, and Yvette Modestin, Afro- Panamanian poet, scholar, activist, playwright and founder of Encuentro Diaspora Afro.