Hispanic Heritage Month arrives at a decisive moment. We are weeks from an election that will decide control of Congress, and one question will define the outcome more than almost any other: Can Republicans hold the Hispanic voters who delivered them historic gains in 2024? The answer must be earned — and earned now, during this very month we honor Hispanic contributions to our nation.

Midterm elections are not presidential elections. There is no President Donald Trump at the top of the ticket to galvanize first-time and infrequent voters the way 2024 did. That is exactly why the fight for Hispanic voters is now the whole ballgame. If Republicans run next month as if the 2024 coalition shows up automatically, they will lose the House, lose the Senate, and hand Democrats the leverage to grind the next two years to a halt.