TOLEDO, Ohio — Readers of the Wall Street Journal saw an op-ed from state Rep. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania) explaining why he thinks more minority voters chose President-elect Donald Trump in the 2024 general election than four years ago.
According to The Associated Press, roughly half of Latino men and about three in 10 Black men voted for Trump, double the amount he got in 2020.
Williams told WTOL 11 he isn't surprised by the results of the election. But he is surprised by what he's hearing from Democrats.
"I just saw pundits doubling down, saying this is proof America is misogynistic, that voters, especially minority voters, should self-evaluate on why they would vote for a fascist like Donald Trump. Before they were dismissing the voice of minorities, but now they're dismissing their vote," he said.
It was this frustration that led Williams and his team to reach out to WSJ about writing an op-ed.
In it, he claims it was not racism, misogyny or fascism that led to Trump's victory, but rather it came down to Republicans having a message that spoke more clearly to the common man and the country's current struggles.
"The Donald Trump campaign proposed solutions for everyday problems that Black Americans, just like any other Americans, are dealing with," Williams said. "These are blue-collar workers that are struggling to put food on the table or pay for their mortgage or their car note, provide for their children. And instead of getting solutions from the Harris/Walz campaign, they were getting Megan Thee Stallion."
In his article, Williams wrote he believes Democrats are simply out of touch, saying discussions at his local barbershop are about "Jeep jobs, inflation and crime, not identity politics."
And he says until Democrats change their messaging by focusing less on culture wars and more on ground-level issues, more and more of the minority vote will keep slipping away.
"Don't assume we're going to vote as a block, because this presidential race has shown that minority votes can swing an election," Williams said.
Toledo City Council member Cerssandra McPherson, a Democrat, gave her opinion on Williams' beliefs and said while she's still processing the results of the election, she doesn't claim to understand them.
"The numbers are what they are. African American young men that voted for Trump believe they were better off when he was president. What that looks like is baffling to me," she said.
Additionally, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Trump beat Harris with Muslim voters, winning 21% of the Muslim vote to her 20%.
CAIR's government affairs director chalked up the loss to deep disillusionment with the war in Gaza.
Williams' op-ed can be read below: