For the first time in polling history, Republicans and Democrats are equally well-liked among Latino voters.
QUICK FACTS:
- President Donald Trump’s positive impact on Latino voters’ opinions of the Republican party has paid off for the GOP.
- According to Just The News, Republicans and Democrats are now neck and neck with the traditionally left-leaning demographic.
- The upward trend continued after Trump left office with some experts saying it appears that Joe Biden is actively losing support among the Latino voting population.
- While Republicans and Democrats are equally well-liked, there is still a lot of room for improvement, as last month’s poll showed that 22 percent of likely Hispanic voters were still undecided as to which party they aligned with.
- Some Hispanic people are even beginning to grow anxious about immigration, due to the unfettered nature of illegal migration patterns and the potential for illegal activity brought by those entering the nation through alternative means.
- The Center for Immigration Studies reported late last year that Latinos in South Texas voted against the demonization of Customs and Border Patrol, their concern over illegal immigration is so great, with reports that legal immigrants and children of legal immigrants are “repulsed” by the mass migration from Central America.
WHAT THE EXPERTS ARE SAYING:
- “The bottom line is Hispanics are one of the most entrepreneurial ethnic groups on the face of the earth, especially in this country, and the Biden policies have had a negative impact on their businesses and their communities,” said Alfredo Ortiz, president of the Job Creators Network small business group who served as a commissioner on the Trump White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative.
- “Latinos are more and more becoming swing votes,” said Democratic pollster John Anzalone, who went on to indicate that Democrats are “going to have to fight for [Latino voters].”
- “We share the same values that are entrenched in the Republican party. God-fearing, law-abiding, tax-paying,” said Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL). “Not only that, that we are Americans, we’re not socialists, We want to come into the country and we want to contribute,” Salazar told Fox News.
- “We come here for two things. We come because we know this is the promised land, we want to share those fruits,” she told host Trey Gowdy. “And we want to have a better economy. We want to be able to go from rags to riches which is what this American exceptionality promises.”
- “This advantage could prove pivotal to the Republican effort to retake control of the U.S. House,” Mark P. Jones, the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy’s fellow in political science and the Joseph D. Jamail chair in Latin American Studies at Rice University, wrote in a recent OpEd for The Hill.
BACKGROUND:
- The pro-Republican shift for Hispanic voters is thought to have begun during the last presidential term, Vox reporting early this year that Trump had gained ground with the minority group.
- Trump gained eight percentage points among Hispanic voters between 2016 and 2020, reports Just The News.
- Republicans were pleasantly surprised when the Virginia governor’s race saw big gains for Republican Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin among Hispanic voters, according to The New York Post.
