Hispanic voters were more likely to vote for Kamala Harris in the presidential election, but support is growing for Republicans. A survey conducted by several Latino organizations found Democrats may have "mistaken assumptions" about Hispanic voters.
"We know there's been a lot of chatter about Latino voters," UnidosUS vice president of the Latino Vote Initiative Clarissa Martinez de Castro said. "Many of us who have been working to increase Latino voter participation, at times, were joking it felt like Latino voters were being talked about more than talked to."
Donald Trump won 28% of the Latino vote in 2016, 37% in 2020, and 45% this year.
Fourteen of the 15 counties across the United States with the biggest shift toward Donald Trump since 2016 were majority Hispanic; 13 of those 15 counties were in Texas. Starr County shifted 39 points to the right; Maverick County moved 38 points.
A survey by BSP Research shows Latino voters were most concerned with inflation, followed by jobs, housing costs, and health care costs. Protection for immigrants ranked sixth, and border concerns ranked eighth.
"Latino voters are sending a message to Democrats they need to lean in on the economy and engage with these voters on these issues more effectively," Martinez de Castro said.
The poll does show more than half of all respondents from different ethnicities support an immigration policy that combines border enforcement with a path to citizenship for people already here. In Texas, 74% of survey participants supported a path to citizenship; 26% supported deporting all undocumented immigrants. Overall, support for a path to citizenship was 73%.
"Let's be clear: Trump does not have a mandate for mass deportations or sending the military to round up our immigrant neighbors and family members," America's Voice Executive Director Vanessa Cardenas said. "American voters and Latino voters, in particular, still strongly support legal status for long-settled immigrants."
UndiosUS' Martinez de Castro said the poll showed Democrats could gain support by focusing more on economic issues, and Republicans risk losing support by focusing on "extreme" tactics.
"For Latinos, the economy isn't just the economy," she said. "The economy includes the weight of our ancestors who crossed deserts, forged rivers and faced death for the chance of economic opportunity. That weight and trauma lives in our DNA and paves the way to choose self-preservation over harm mitigation."
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Tell your Smart Speaker to "PLAY 1080 KRLD"
Sign Up to receive our KRLD Insider Newsletter for more news
Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube