On Sept. 2, the Center for the Study of American Democracy (CSAD) kicked off its 2026–27 lecture series with a talk from Mike Madrid, a political consultant and co-founder of The Lincoln Project. The title of the talk was “The Latino Century? Parties, Midterm Elections, and the concerns of Latine Voters.” At a time when American politics is increasingly polarized, Madrid challenged the Archon Auditorium audience to look past their own political inclinations and consider how demographic changes, technology and generational shifts are reshaping American politics.
A seasoned, bipartisan political strategist, he argued that political institutions have repeatedly misunderstood Latines by treating them primarily as an ethnic or racial voting bloc. Madrid argued that Latine voters are increasingly a “multi-ethnic, multiracial, multi-generational” and working-class constituency whose political decisions are primarily driven by economic concerns.
Ia Sophia Cabre-Jockovich ’27, the president of Kenyon’s Latine student association, Adelante, attended the talk. She was motivated to do so because of CSAD’s collaboration with the Latine studies concentration. In an interview with the Collegian, Cabre-Jockovich described Madrid as a good speaker and noted his effort to present himself as nonpartisan in a primarily left-leaning space, particularly when he opened with a joke about the audience applauding a Republican.
However, Cabre-Jockovich wished the event had been more dialogue-heavy. She felt that Madrid sometimes rambled rather than engaging directly with the audience. Addison Shafley ’28 agreed with this, writing in a message to the Collegian, “I thought he was very well-spoken. Although there were times when I felt he didn’t quite answer the questions that were asked.”
Several of his points stood out to Cabre-Jockovich. She said, “One thing that suprised me was his idea of the mestizo [mixed] class.” While she agreed that Latine identities are shaped by multiple historical influences, including Spanish, Indigenous and African heritage, she felt Madrid’s concept of “the mestizo class” was too one-dimensional to represent the diversity of these communities.
This idea connected to one of Madrid’s broader arguments that the traditional political spectrum may no longer adequately describe the forces shaping American politics. Madrid suggested that the country is increasingly divided, not simply between left and right, but also between those who benefit from existing institutions and those who believe that those institutions have failed them. Madrid connects this to the idea that Latine people are more likely to vote based on their class than their ethnic identity.
Professor of Mathematics Bob Milnikel found the same argument especially compelling. In an email to the Collegian, he wrote that he was particularly interested in Madrid’s argument that economic concerns can matter more to Latine voters than the culture-war issues that frequently dominate political discussion. Milnikel also said that Madrid’s characterization of Latine voters as less firmly attached to either political party than other major voting groups are “rang true.” However, Milnikel noted that Madrid still recognized that describing such a diverse population as a single bloc is necessarily a simplification.
Madrid situated these political changes within a larger demographic transformation. He argued that the growing population of Latines is challenging the traditional binary framework through which American racial and political identities have often been understood. Madrid’s lecture provided attendees with both a new way to think about voting patterns and more questions about how political institutions will change.