In hard-fought Pennsylvania, fast-growing Hispanic communities present a test for Harris and Trump

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The sun was creeping over the horizon on a recent morning in Pennsylvania’s erstwhile steel country, but inside a house next to two radio towers, Victor Martinez stood with a microphone, ready to broadcast his views to thousands of Spanish-speaking listeners.

“Señores, abran los ojos,” Spanish for “Gentlemen, open your eyes,” he said, after playing a recent interview where former President Donald Trump suggested he could deploy the U.S. military to deal with the opposition. “Three weeks before Election Day, this guy has the nerve to say that we should use the army to put what he calls ‘crazy liberal Democrats’ in prison.”

Pennsylvania is arguably the hardest fought of the battleground states and happens to have one of the fastest-growing Hispanic communities in the country, in what is known as the 222 Corridor, after the highway that connects small cities and towns west and north of Philadelphia. It’s fertile ground for both Democrats and Republicans to test their strength among Latinos in a state where small margins decide who gets 19 electoral votes. It’s a place where Democratic nominee Kamala Harris can prove that her party still commands a large share of the demographic’s support, and where Trump's campaign has been working to gain ground.

“This is the epicenter for Latino voters in Pennsylvania,” said Martinez, who is of Puerto Rican descent and lives in and broadcasts his show from Allentown. “I like the fact that Kamala Harris has to keep sending people over here to listen to us and talk to us. I like it. I like the fact that JD Vance has to keep coming back. I like it, because that means that they have to pay attention to us.”