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Quad City Hispanics say Trump is helping to mobilize Latino vote

Cutting hair, not politics, has been on the radar for Moline barber Miguel Rosas. Until this election. “I am feeling the Bern. Bernie Sanders. He wants to...

Cutting hair, not politics, has been on the radar for Moline barber Miguel Rosas. Until this election.

"I am feeling the Bern. Bernie Sanders. He wants to change the political system," the young small business owner said.

"I want to see the economy grow as a whole. I don't want to see certain people get left at the bottom. I want to see everybody grow together," Rosas said.

He is one of a growing crop of young Latino voters engaged in the upcoming election, and in many cases, their votes are up for grabs.

The Hispanic electorate will reach a record high this year with more than 27 million people eligible to vote.

"51 percent of Latinos in the nation are independent, I consider myself an independent. I don't think anyone should assume the Hispanic vote is going their way, be it Democrat or Republican. A lot of the potential candidates have done a really bad job of reaching out to us. The people that really reach out to us are going to get our vote," said Tar Macias, head of Hola America Media group, a local online and print media company catering to the Quad City Hispanic community.

Macias helped other Hispanic groups rally more than 11,000 Latinos to caucus in Iowa this month. Only about 1,000 participated four years ago.

Macias says Republican Donald Trump's stance on immigration is actually "mobilizing the Latino vote." But he says, the economy and access to higher education are the two priority issues.

As for Rosas, he and his customers have civil debates about the candidates, including Trump, as old school rap plays in the background at his barber shop.

"This is the most entertaining election I've seen since I've been alive," he said.

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