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(Nevada News Service) Roughly 10 million Hispanics identify as evangelical or Protestant, and one pastor contends there has been what he calls "an awakening" regarding the influence and political power of Hispanic evangelicals - in battlegrounds such as Nevada and around the country.

Rev. Gabriel Salguero is president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, and argued despite that awakening, there is still a "misunderstanding" of how diverse the Hispanic evangelical community actually is.

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"Politicians don't know how to speak to us," said Salguero. "They say 'Oh, well, they're evangelical, they must be Republican,' or 'Oh, they're Latino, they must be Democrat.' Well, we are Latino-evangelicals, and so like me, I'm a registered independent. Many of us are registered independents because we are not one-issue voters."

Salguero said politicians need to take that "complexity" seriously. A new study reveals Latino evangelicals' political and social views are heavily influenced by their faith.

The study found the economy and immigration policies were some of the most uniting issues for the demographic, and highlighted the important role local churches play in getting community members politically informed and engaged.

Salguero said candidates' values are also one of the most important and relevant considerations, when Hispanic evangelicals are deciding who to vote for.

Just this past weekend, at a Trump rally in New York City, what some are calling racist comments were said targeting ethnic and racial groups - including Puerto Ricans like Salguero.

He demanded a public apology.

"The truth is that xenophobic and racialized rhetoric should not have any space in political campaigns of any candidate," said Salguero. "And so we are deeply offended by it as a coalition. I personally, as Puerto Rican, feel deeply offended."

With less than a week until Election Day, Salguero said he has a simple message to voters.

"We need to be an informed electorate, and dig deeper into people's platforms and people's agendas and what that means for our community," said Salguero. "Be informed. Tu voz es tu voto - your vote is your voice. You must engage, because when you don't engage, then you get taken for granted or get ignored."