Latino voters in Nevada cite economy as top concern, prefer Democrats to combat the issues
Inflation and cost of living continue to be the top issues afflicting likely Latino voters surveyed in Nevada, who better trust Democrats to address them, according to a poll of likely voters unveiled this week.
The UnidosUS poll — conducted by BSP Research — questioned 300 Latinos in the state, who said they preferred Democrats over Republicans by a 44 percent to 29 percent margin.
UnidosUS is the largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the country.
“Our new poll shows that the rising cost of living, wages and housing costs continue to be top of mind for Latino voters,” wrote Janet Murguia, president and CEO of the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, in a news release.
In a tight race in a battleground state such as Nevada, Latino voters — who make up 20 percent of overall voters — have the potential to swing elections.
When asked who they planned to vote for in the presidential election, 37 percent of them said they were “definitely” casting a ballot for Vice President Kamala Harris, compared with 20 percent who said the same thing about former President Donald Trump.
Twenty percent said they were probably/leaning toward Harris, compared with 14 percent who answered Trump. Ten percent of Latinos surveyed said they were undecided.
In the U.S. Senate race, 43 percent said they were voting for Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., compared with 17 percent who said they were voting for Republican Sam Brown.
The Nevada poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.7 percentage points.
‘Earn their vote’
In total, pollsters surveyed 3,000 Latinos here, in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas.
“Hispanic voters will be decisive this November, a fact made more real by a landscape of razor-thin margins,” said Clarissa Martinez De Castro, vice president for UnidosUS Latino Vote initiative, in the news release.
Out of the 3,000 Latinos surveyed, 55 percent said they hadn’t heard from either campaign or political organization this election cycle.
That’s also the case in Nevada, where 53 percent of respondents said they had not been contacted. One in four said they had heard from Democrats, and 14 percent said they’ve heard from Republicans.
Martínez De Castro said in the release that 20 percent of Latinos surveyed were planning to vote for the first time in November, noting that “early and meaningful outreach is essential.”
She added: “It is imperative for candidates to connect with these voters and provide concrete solutions to their concerns to gain their confidence and earn their vote.”
Across the eight states polled, Harris was leading by a margin of 41 percent to 18 percent with a national margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.
“On priority issues overall, Democrats are more trusted than Republicans,” pollsters wrote. “However, more than a quarter of Latino voters do not clearly see either as a champion of their concerns, with 28 (percent) saying neither, both or don’t know which party would be better at addressing their priority issue.”
Top issues
The top three issues cited by the Latino electorate surveyed were economic based, while crime/gun violence, and immigration finished up the top five.
Gary Segura, co-founder and president of BSP Research said that Latinos are paying “close attention.”
“As has been true for several cycles, Democratic policy positions fare better than Democratic politicians while Republicans — and Trump in particular — are held in generally lower regard and garner trust only on issues of inflation and border,” Segura said in the release. “Both parties clearly have work to do to attract a larger share of this fast-growing electorate, and to do so it is important to understand the nuances behind Latino voters’ concerns and motivations, which a larger poll such as this one is able to do.”
On a “values alignment” question related to immigration, 58 percent of Latinos in Nevada said Democrats were “closer to my views” compared with 23 percent who said the same about Republicans.
About 70 percent of Latinos surveyed in Nevada said they agreed or somewhat agreed that it’s “wrong” to make abortion illegal.
A total of 46 percent supported a pathway to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and undocumented immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for a “long” time, according to pollsters.
One in three Latinos in Nevada agreed that border security must be increased, and 21 percent said that the wall at the U.S.-Mexico border should be completed.
Only 12 percent said that “all undocumented immigrations” should be deported, regardless of how long they’ve lived in the United States.
“And on immigration, Latino voters know the difference between those who mean us harm and those who are contributing to the fabric of our nation — their top priorities are relief for the long-residing undocumented population and cracking down on human smugglers and drug traffickers,” Murguia said in the news release.